Engineering Services for Industrial Automation, Heavy Equipment Manufacturers and Smart Energy
Our Customers’ Profiles
- Global Leaders in Agriculture Technology
Supporting the development of advanced agricultural machinery and robotics systems, improving software reliability, and enhancing operational security for precision farming applications. - Mining Equipment
Delivering embedded Linux and bare-metal software development services to support advanced systems and monitoring technologies for enhanced safety and operational efficiency in mining applications.
- Transportation and Railway Technology Providers
Providing engineering services for secure, high-performance control systems used in locomotives and rail equipment. - Heavy Machinery Manufacturers
Enabling the design of embedded systems and IoT-enabled technologies for construction, material handling, and industrial equipment. - Food and Manufacturing Equipment Suppliers
Collaborating on scalable embedded systems and automation solutions for high-performance food processing and industrial production machinery.
Case Studies
Case Study 1
Energy and Smart Grid
Secure AI-Enabled Edge Platform Development
Our customer needed a secure, production-ready Linux distribution for its NVIDIA Orin Nano-based edge platform. Their proof-of-concept work was implemented on Linux for Tegra but their production requirements drove a move to a Yocto Project based OS to leverage reproducible builds, software bill of materials, and long-term support for security issues. Requirements included factory secure key provisioning, secure boot, device-specific disk encryption, OTA updates, and converting existing Ansible-based configuration and middleware into Yocto Project packages.
Our Solution
Konsulko Group developed a custom Yocto Project Scarthgap LTS-based distribution with a Linux 6.6 kernel, supporting both developer and production images on NVIDIA’s Jetson Orin Nano SOM and custom-design Orin Nano SoC-based hardware. We implemented factory and development security fusing via NVIDIA’s Factory Secure Key Provisioning (FSKP) for secure high-volume manufacturing, read-only encrypted root filesystem and dm-crypt encrypted root and data filesystems, cellular modem support, and Mender A/B OTA update support, including binary delta updates, to enable efficient upgrades for bandwidth-constrained deployed devices. Additional work included custom UEFI lockdown and selective USB port disabling for security, Triton inference server integration, and solutions for private Rust crate packaging to support complex Rust application dependencies.
The Impact
The result was a secure, maintainable, and AI-ready edge software stack that streamlined updates, improved manufacturing security, and provided a solid foundation for large-scale product deployment in the field.
Case Study 2
Data Center Infrastructure
Modernizing a Rack-Scale Battery Management System
A leading company in the data center infrastructure market wanted to update its rack-scale battery management system for its UPS product line. Running on an aging TI AM335x-based design, the last Yocto Project update for their product dated back ten years. There was no CI pipeline, and field upgrades required mailing SD cards. Documentation was limited, and the original development team was no longer available.
Our Solution
Konsulko Group upgraded the platform to the Yocto Project Scarthgap LTS release, starting with a clean layer structure, integrating GitLab CI for automated builds and security checks, and implementing RAUC-based A/B OTA updates to replace the manual SD card process.
The Impact
The result was a secure, maintainable, and easily updatable software base, reducing operational costs, improving security, and enabling faster deployment of updates in the field.
Case Study 3
Industrial Automation
Secure Device Management
For a customer in the industrial automation sector, Konsulko Group contributed engineering expertise to enhance the security, reliability, and manageability of their connected devices. Key contributions included:
- TPM integration with Azure IoT and Mender for secure device identity and management.
- Implementation of secure boot, disk encryption, and kernel hardening to enhance device security.
- Automating testing workflows and addressing critical issues like CVE detection and Intel thermal detection.
- Watchdog support to implement fallback workflows for improved system resilience.
- Integration of the chosen hardware and support for an open-source Mender OTA server with AB Partitioning
- Updating Azure IoT Edge to the latest version and preparing for a transition to the latest LTE Yocto Project.
- Configuring a read-only RootFs and external data storage for configurations outside of Mender.
These contributions enabled the customer to improve the security, manageability, and long-term stability of their devices while aligning with industry best practices.
Case Study 4
Construction / Home Automation
Scalable IoT Device Management on Kubernetes
For another customer, Konsulko provided engineering support for managing IoT devices using Mender 3.5 and Kubernetes infrastructure. Key contributions included:
- Research and cost estimation for deploying Mender 3.5 on Amazon EKS and Google Kubernetes Engine for various device scales.
- Implementing Mender 3.5 on Kubernetes clusters using Terraform and Ansible for configuration and deployment.
- Modifying Mender to support:
- Existing and new devices, including retry mechanisms for failed updates.
- Full image updates and partial/package-based updates.
- Integrating real-time monitoring and alerting for the Kubernetes cluster via email and Slack.
- Developing manufacturing tools to streamline device registration in Mender during production, including keypair generation and CPU ID registration.
- Providing latest Yocto Project upgrade support to ensure compatibility with previous work.
This project enabled the customer to scale their IoT device management system while maintaining robust security and efficient workflows.
Case Study 5
Defense / Industrial
Addressing Emissions Issues in i.MX8M-based hardware for MIL-STD461G Compliance
Our client faced a challenge with an i.MX8M-based design, which failed to meet strict radiated emissions standards, specifically requirements akin to MIL-STD461G RE101/102. Testing revealed a problematic 1.5GHz emissions spike originating from the DDR lines, impeding compliance.
Engineering Services Provided by Konsulko Group
Leveraging our extensive experience in NXP DDR configuration and emissions control, Konsulko developed and provided custom firmware images optimized to address this issue. Our approach included:
- DDR Frequency Modifications
To mitigate the emissions spike, we adjusted the DDR frequency from 750MHz to 533MHz in various test firmware images. This frequency change was a targeted adjustment to reduce interference while maintaining system performance. - Custom DDR Tools and Advanced Testing Scripts
Konsulko’s team utilized advanced DDR configuration tools, including custom patches developed specifically for NXP hardware, allowing precise control over DDR behavior. Our proprietary DDR stress testing scripts—more advanced than standard tools like —ensured reliable, high-performance results. - ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) Compliance
Our US-based team handled this ITAR-restricted project, meeting stringent government compliance standards.
Case Study 6
Smart Energy Industry
Real-Time PRU and Xenomai Integration for ADC Data Acquisition on BeagleBone Black
We successfully delivered a custom software solution for an energy industry client, leveraging the BeagleBone Black platform to create a high-performance system for real-time ADC (analog to digital converter) data handling and motor control.
Project Highlights
Platform
BeagleBone Black with PRU (Programmable Real-Time Unit) and Xenomai real-time Linux.
Objective
Acquired 8-channel ADC data from AD7609 over SPI1 at 50 kHz and processed it in Xenomai user-space program.
Signaling Mechanism
Achieved efficient signaling between the PRU and Xenomai user space using GPIO, optimized for latency <50 microseconds.
Konsulko-delivered Results
PRU Code Development
- Real-time ADC data acquisition synchronized with motor control pulse width modulation (PWM) cycles at 5 kHz.
- SPI data reading and precise alignment of ADC frames with PWM cycles using eCAP0_in_PWM0_out.
Data Transfer Interface
- Implemented shared memory for seamless ADC data exchange between PRU and Xenomai.
- Structured data organization optimized for C++ matrix algebra in user space.
Xenomai User-Space Integration
- Developed signal handling and data processing capabilities for generating motor control duty cycles.
- Minimized communication latency between PRU and Xenomai to under 50 microseconds.
Testing and Validation
- Conducted automated tests and oscilloscope-based validations, demonstrating:
- Low-latency PRU-Xenomai signaling.
- Alignment of ADC frames with PWM cycles for precise motor control.
- Provided quantitative performance metrics to meet the client’s stringent requirements.
Licensing
- Open-source contributions included modifications to Xenomai and Linux kernel drivers.
- Proprietary PRU and Xenomai user-space code remained closed source with full intellectual property rights assigned to the client.
Impact for the Energy Industry
This solution enabled our energy industry client to achieve precise real-time data processing and motor control, critical for their application. The optimized ADC sampling and PWM alignment improved system efficiency and reliability.
Case Study 7
Defense/Industrial
Custom Yocto Build for Nvidia Jetson Xavier AGX
Konsulko Group supported a customer with a system based on the Nvidia Jetson Xavier AGX and Connect Tech Carrier Board Rogue (AGX101). The project focused on delivering a custom Yocto Project stack tailored to the customer’s hardware and application requirements. Key contributions included:
Yocto Stack Development
- Delivered a Yocto stack based on Dunfell meta-tegra 32.5.0, integrating the BSP (board support package) and root filesystem for the customer’s application.
- Developed a custom Yocto layer for the Connect Tech Carrier board.
System Capabilities
- Supported multiple camera inputs over CSI (channel state information), HDMI monitor output, Nvidia V4L2 media subsystem, GPU usage, and SocketCAN.
- Enabled use of NVMe M.2 Key M Slot, USB ports, Ethernet ports, and CAN 2.0b ports.
Documentation and Support
- Provided comprehensive instructions for setting up the Yocto build environment, building the delivered stack, and customizing Yocto layers.
- Iteratively refined the build by adding or removing packages as necessary, based on the project scope and budget.
Core Components
- The final build included core elements such as systemd, X11, and Openbox.
Impact
This project enabled the customer to leverage the full capabilities of the Nvidia Jetson Xavier AGX platform, integrating complex hardware configurations into a reliable, customized embedded Linux environment.
Why Choose Konsulko Group
End-to-End Support
We assist with hardware design, board bring-up, and embedded Linux software development, providing engineering expertise throughout your product development cycle.
Flexible Collaboration
Whether you’re a startup or an established company, we adapt to your needs to provide customized engineering services.
At Konsulko Group, we are passionate about helping you engineer innovative technologies.
Contact us today to explore how our engineering services can help bring your innovative products to life.
