In today's Industry 4.0 era, the Internet of Everything (IoE) has become an irreversible trend. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), serving as a bridge between the physical and digital worlds, is gradually transforming our production methods and management models. Against this backdrop, the seamless integration of edge acquisition gateways with industrial IoT platforms is particularly significant. This article will introduce this integration process in a simple and comprehensive manner.

1、Edge Acquisition Gateway: The "Gatekeeper" of IoT

An edge acquisition gateway is a gateway device deployed at the edge of the network. It serves as the "gatekeeper" in the IoT system, connecting terminal devices with cloud servers and responsible for data acquisition, processing, and transmission.

• Local Processing: Edge gateways can perform preliminary data processing locally, reducing data transmission volume, improving response speed, and lowering transmission costs.

• Data Storage: Edge gateways can store data locally, which to some extent protects data privacy and enhances data security.

• Real-time Control: Through local control devices, edge gateways can achieve automated control, intelligent management, and other functions. In industrial environments, edge gateways can connect various industrial devices, such as machine tools, sensors, PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers), enabling intelligent control, automated production, quality monitoring, and other functions.

2、Industrial IoT Platform: The "Commander" of Data

The industrial IoT platform is the core component connecting the physical and digital worlds. It provides a series of functions, including device access, data acquisition, analysis and processing, and intelligent decision-making, helping enterprises achieve smart manufacturing goals.

• Device Access: Supports multiple communication protocols and data formats, ensuring seamless access of devices from different manufacturers and models to the platform.

• Data Processing: Possesses efficient data processing capabilities, capable of processing massive data in real-time and providing data query, report generation, and other functions.

• Application Services: Offers various application services, such as device monitoring, predictive maintenance, quality control, energy consumption management, to meet specific enterprise needs. The industrial IoT platform helps enterprises optimize production processes, improve production efficiency, and reduce operating costs through real-time monitoring and analysis of production data.

3、Seamless Integration Practice: The Bridge from Edge to Cloud

The seamless integration of edge acquisition gateways with industrial IoT platforms is a critical step in achieving IoE. Below is an example of the integration process using the M300 edge computing gateway with an IoT platform.

• Gateway Configuration and Data Acquisition: Firstly, the M300 gateway needs to acquire data from multiple Siemens S7-200 Smart PLCs. After processing, these data are concatenated into JSON format.

• JSON Concatenation: The collected data requires formatting to ensure compliance with MQTT protocol transmission requirements.

• MQTT Reporting: Configure the MQTT publish node to report the concatenated JSON data to the ThingsKit IoT platform. In this step, parameters such as client ID, username, password, and publish topic need to be set.

• Platform Configuration

• Dashboard Design: To visually display data, a dashboard interface can be designed on the platform. Set the device to public and add public interfaces for the dashboard to obtain data. Finally, design the dashboard effects according to requirements, such as dot matrix effects.

• Adding Devices: On the device management page, add a new device and set its alias, device name, associated product, and other parameters. Simultaneously, add the MQTT Basic protocol and configure the corresponding client ID, username, and password.

• Thing Model Management: Edit and publish the thing model based on actual needs. The thing model defines the structure and attributes of data and is the foundation for device access to the platform.

• Adding Products: On the IoT cloud platform, a new product needs to be added first, with parameters such as device type, product name, and rule chains set.

Through the above steps, the M300 edge computing gateway and the ThingsKit IoT platform achieve seamless integration. Data is collected from edge devices, processed, and reported to the platform, ultimately displayed and analyzed on the dashboard.

4、Application Scenarios and Outlook

The seamless integration of edge acquisition gateways with industrial IoT platforms has broad application prospects in the industrial field.

• Smart Factories: By connecting various industrial devices, it achieves intelligent control, automated production, quality monitoring, and other functions, improving production efficiency and product quality.

• Smart Cities: Connecting urban facilities such as streetlights, traffic signals, and surveillance cameras enables intelligent management, disaster warning, traffic optimization, and other functions, enhancing city management levels.

• Smart Homes: Connecting smart devices such as smart locks, smart bulbs, and smart speakers enables remote control, scene linkage, intelligent management, and other functions, improving the quality of life.

With continuous technological advancements and expanding application scenarios, the integration of edge acquisition gateways with industrial IoT platforms will become more seamless and efficient. In the future, we will usher in a more intelligent and automated industrial era. The seamless integration of edge acquisition gateways with industrial IoT platforms is a critical step in achieving IoE. Through the introduction in this article, in future work, we will continue to explore and practice, contributing our efforts to promoting the development of the industrial IoT.