The Congatec IoT gateway offers exceptional flexibility in terms of processing performance and software integration, accommodating up to eight wireless antennas that can be connected to three mini PCI Express slots and six internal USB slots for wired and wireless connectivity modules. Custom system designs are also available upon request.
Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) using the conga IoT gateway benefit from a pre-configured, pre-certified IoT gateway that can be easily connected to a wide range of heterogeneous sensors and systems, as well as cloud-based services. Intended uses include IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) applications such as smart agriculture, smart cities, connected homes and vehicles, digital signage systems, and other IoT applications.
Congatec CEO Jason Carlson explains his company's application-ready systems strategy for IoT gateways: "The huge and growing IoT market is well served by congatec's traditional embedded boards and module products, but equipment manufacturers are increasingly demanding IoT gateways that are more complete and application-ready. To meet this growing need, congatec has designed a highly flexible and configurable gateway system that can be optimized to meet a wide variety of specific application needs. Together with our embedded design and manufacturing services, we can now meet any specific IoT gateway requirement. As well as engineering and producing optimized IoT solutions, congatec's embedded design and manufacturing service also includes certification services, an increasingly essential element of deploying wireless technologies and edge devices that connect to carrier-grade infrastructure.".
The congatec IoT gateway's wireless connectivity is extremely scalable: six internal USB ports and three MiniPCIe slots are available and can support 3GPP LTE modems, two Wi-Fi ports, two LAN ports with PoE and PROFINET features, Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE), and 6LoWPAN. It also supports other low-power wide area networks, including LoRa, 3GPP, LTE-MTC, Sigfox, or UNB, upon customer request. This allows for maximum flexibility in supporting major IoT connectivity requirements. The enclosure is equipped to mount up to eight antennas that support multiple wireless standards in parallel, while improving signal quality through antenna diversity. The compact metal housing (200 x 230 x 40 mm) is IP53 certified for outdoor applications.
To offer optimal and rapid IoT gateway designs, congatec developed the system to support scalable computing performance using Qseven modules, ranging from a single-core NXP i.MX6 processor to a quad-core Intel® Pentium® CPU. The gateway also supports the next generation of Intel® Atom™ processors (codenamed Intel "Apollo Lake") for deployment in recent IoT gateways and cutting-edge computing application scenarios, including high-availability "fog" computing systems.
The congatec embedded board support packages cover all major operating systems, including Windows 10 IoT, for easier software integration. The congatec IoT gateway system also supports all the features of the congatec embedded board controller, which are essential for reliable IoT applications. Among other functions, the congatec feature set enables safe boot, Multi-Master I²C Bus management, Multi-Stage Watchdog, non-volatile storage of user data, manufacturing and board information, board statistics, and power loss control.
