A method implemented in a computer based smartphone in communication with one or more appliances via one or more networks. The method comprises monitoring health data concerning an appliance or an appliance part and adjusting the health data based on weather data. Determining that the appliance or appliance part exhibits a maintenance issue based upon the adjusted health data. Accessing a remote computer system via the computer based smartphone over an Internet. Receiving one or more suggestions on where to order, purchase, or seek repair for the appliance or appliance part from the remote computer system.

A robot controller controlling a robot arm driven by a motor is provided. The robot controller includes: a first processing unit having a first control unit, a first storage unit, and a first system bus that couples the first control unit and the first storage unit together, the first processing unit acquiring target position information designated in a program causing the robot arm to operate; and a second processing unit having a second control unit, a second storage unit, and a second system bus that couples the second control unit and the second storage unit together, the second processing unit receiving the target position information from the first processing unit and generating a trajectory of the robot arm, based on the target position information.

An optical backplane for an optical communication network architecture distributing data to equipment. An optical demultiplexer having an input port and at least two output ports. The input port coupled to an optical fiber to carry at least two multiplexed channels of different wavelengths, a control/management channel to control/manage the network and a service dedicated channel. The output ports deliver the control/management channel and at least one service dedicated channel. A coupler receives and transmits one portion of the control/management channel to an interface box coupled to an item of equipment, and another portion of said channel to an optical multiplexer. A routing device for each output port receives a channel either to transmit said channel to the optical multiplexer in a first position or to transmit one portion of said channel to the interface box and another portion of said channel to the optical multiplexer in a second position.

A method is for date-stamping an event detected in an automotive vehicle including a plurality of sensors each comprising a relative internal clock and an electronic control unit including an absolute internal clock. The method includes, at each period, resetting the whole set of relative internal clocks of the sensors to zero, storing the absolute time of resetting to zero of the absolute clock at each reset to zero, detecting an event, receiving, at each detected event, a sensor relative time originating from the sensor's relative clock associated with the detected event, and calculating a sensor absolute time as a function of the sensor relative time of the internal clock of a sensor associated with the detected event and of the time of resetting to zero stored by a storage module in the electronic control unit at each reset to zero, defining a reference relative time.

A bus system for a process system, having a first bus subscriber which transmits bus messages and having at least one first bus subscriber which receives bus messages, wherein the transmitting first bus subscriber and the receiving first bus subscriber are connected to one another via a first data bus, wherein the transmitting first bus subscriber is designed such that it transmits control commands to the receiving first bus subscriber, wherein the receiving first bus subscriber is designed such that it executes the control commands of the transmitting first bus subscriber and achieves the object of providing a bus system that is designed to be fail-safe in a special way.

In a relay device, a control unit stores, in a temporary storage unit data which is received by an Ethernet communication unit through a communication line. When the data stored in the temporary storage unit is transmitted, the control unit deletes the transmitted data from the temporary storage unit. When the control unit determines that, for the data received by the Ethernet communication unit, the amount of data stored in the temporary storage unit is equal to or greater than a threshold value, the Ethernet communication unit transmits instruction data giving an instruction to stop transmission through a communication line and to perform transmission through a communication bus.

Disclosed are a method, a device and a system for data communication control. In the method for data communication control, data sent from a first communication device is received by a data forwarding device, where the data is transmitted through at least two types of physical interfaces in sequence. The data is then forwarded by the data forwarding device to a second communication device that is preconfigured. During the process of sending the data by the first communication device, the data is physically isolated by at least two types of physical interfaces, and then forwarded to the second communication device that is preconfigured. Even if the first communication device is illegally invaded by outsiders, the outsiders only know the IP address of the first communication device but fail to know the IP address of the destination of the physically isolated data.

A hybrid bus communication circuit is provided. The hybrid bus communication circuit includes at least two different types of communication buses. The hybrid bus communication circuit also includes a hybrid bridge circuit and several multi-bus slave circuits each coupled to the two different types of communication buses. In a non-limiting example, each of the multi-bus slave circuits may communicate timing critical information via a first type communication bus and non-timing critical information via a second type communication bus. The hybrid bridge circuit is configured to receive a configuration command via the first type communication bus and, accordingly, configure a configuration parameter(s) in any of the multi-bus slave circuits via the second type communication bus. As such, it is possible to make time constrained configuration changes in any of the multi-bus slave circuits without interfering with the timing critical communication conducted via the first type communication bus.

In an automation system, a protocol converter is provided between a first network and a second network for converting safety-related messages between the first and second networks that use different network protocols for message exchange. In the protocol converter, a single-channel filter connected to a single-channel interface determines messages having a first safety communication protocol from messages received from the interface over the first network and messages having a second safety communication protocol received over the second network. An at least dual-channel safety module connected to the single-channel filter then converts the messages with the first safety communication protocol determined by the single-channel filter into messages with the second safety communication protocol, or converts the messages with the second safety communication protocol determined by the single-channel filter into messages with the first safety communication protocol.

A method that includes operating a bus monitoring system having at least one interface configured to be coupled to at least one communication bus and receive bus traffic transmitted over the communication bus(es). The method also includes, using a device authentication system of the bus monitoring system, analyzing the bus traffic received via the at least one interface. Analyzing the bus traffic includes obtaining a message in the bus traffic (where the message identifies a source), identifying a support vector machine that corresponds to the source of the message, applying a wave transform to a waveform of the received message in order to generate a transformed waveform, inputting the transformed waveform to the identified support vector machine, and taking action in response to the identified support vector machine determining that the transformed waveform or the associated information does not correspond to the source.