The "Beck-Bone" for Smart Grids Demonstrated at IEEE PES GM in Minneapolis

BECK IPC (Pohlheim, Germany), SystemCorp (Perth, Australia) and NettedAutomation (Karlsruhe, Germany) successfully demonstrated the "Beck-Bone" for Smart Grids at the IEEE PES GA in Minneapolis (MN, USA):
The IEC61850@CHIP.

More than 2,500 experts attended the IEEE Power & Energy Societies General Meeting in Minneapolis (MN, USA) form 26 to 29 July 2010. One of the highlights of the Power System Communications Committee's Event was the demonstration of a breakthrough implementation of IEC 61850 (IEC 61400-25) on a Chip. Detlef Raddatz (SystemCorp) runs a last test prior to the big show:

 

Detlef demonstrates the benefits of the IEC 61850 software running on different HW platforms (all using the same Chip): Development Kit DK61 (middle of photo), ruggetized I/O modules (left), COM.TOM module (right):

The Development Kit DK61 comes with IEC 61850 (61400-25) stack software, an easy to use API with 13 functions only, with C/C++ and IEC 61131-3 programming languages, FTP, Telnet, TCP/IP, IPSec, sample C code and sample exe files that run immediately, and comprehensive documentation.

Click HERE for more details of the DK61.
Click HERE to download the order form to get the special fair offer of US$ 1.250.

The stack software and sample code (source and exe) have been introduced in Minneapolis as DLL demos (client, server, publisher, and subscriber). The DLLs run for 6 months fully functional for up to 50 signals/points. The demo also contains the fully functional SCL designer to model up to 50 signals/points. The server runs the same model as provided with the DK61. You may use the DLLs for any other application you build around them. The given sample code runs on one PC (local host) and two PCs. The DLLs run under Windows - while the Beck Chip runs a very powerful real-time operation system (RTOS) for real-time applications.

Click HERE to download the DLLs to run under Windows (available end of August 2010; the availability will be announced in a new blog posting as soon as it is available).

During the many technical discussions experts had questions about the platform and functions. People had been quite surprised when they understood the performance of such a simple and small platform.

 

The Buffet offered a variety of food and beverages ... including Beck's Beer and Beck "Chips". The German brewery Beck and Beck IPC (the chip manufacturer) are not linked.

Professor Dr. John Newbury (The Open University, Manchester, GB) was quite happy to see the results of 15 years of standardization work in IEC TC 57 (WG 10, WG17, WG 18) and TC 88 PT 25 (IEC 61400-25, Wind Power) on such a small but powerful platform:

What are the steps towards a the "Beck-Bone" for Smart Grids and many other applications?

1. Many experts start with the Development Kit DK61 to do hands-on exercises using the provided software examples to get a good understanding of the IEC 61850 models and services. One of the big vendors of controllers reported the other day that they we able to implement their network interconnection for connecting PV systems to the power grid within 2 weeks !! The grid connection is completely modeled in IEC 61850.
   This is the easiest way to get your data communicated with IEC 61850 (IEC 61400-25). Another approach could be to start with DLLs on a PC and then use the DK61 for real-time requirements.
2. In case of implementing interfaces, e.g., for pilot projects, it is convenient to use one of the many ready to go COM.TOM modules:
   
3. After successful pilot projects it is recommended to use one or the other Chip in your specific hardware:
   
4. Other components hardened for higher EMC requirements are offered by SystemCorp: RTUs, Gateways, Protocol converter, ...
   

All these and other components implement IEC 61850 on the Beck Chip. The IEC 61850 stack software (developed by SystemCorp) runs on many other platforms:

Click HERE to visit the SystemCorp website (Perth, WA, Australia).