PII uses Celoxica DK1 to help pigs' data fly

PII has adopted Celoxica's DK1 design suite to improve design efficiency in the development of new hardware systems processing up to 6Mbyte/s of data for PII's fleet of "Intelligent Pigs".

PII has adopted Celoxica's DK1 design suite to improve design efficiency in the development of new hardware systems processing up to 6Mbyte/s of data for PII's fleet of "Intelligent Pigs" - advanced autonomous data collection tools for the inspection of pipelines.

"We were using VHDL schematic entry tools but it was a struggle to maintain our in-house VHDL capability and the cost of bringing in those skills at the right level was too high.

DK1 allows us to leverage our knowledge of C and embedded systems to accelerate and simplify the embedded design process and better manage a greater volume of work.

The expected gains in productivity will deliver value to the marketplace through faster implementation of new technologies and enhanced services", said Gary Brayson, team leader, electronic design, PII Limited.

Brayson continued: "Each inspection tool, including circuits, drive elements, data capture and storage, costs the company around GBP 6 million to develop.

Typically the return is realised over a 10- to 15-year term of service so component obsolescence between generations of inspection tool is a major issue.

Training also becomes a problem as each new processor comes with its own development tools.

By targeting FPGAs and PLDS with DK1 we can emulate processors using one tool to overcome both the problems of obsolescence and gaps in design skills".

David Murray, managing director of DSK Technology International, the design team who have been working with PII on its first DK1 project said, "For this design we needed to implement data capture and communication with data storage, control, exception management, power management and provide for future expansion with facilities such as wavelet compression and adaptive collection modes.

We had tough targets to meet in terms of data throughput, physical size and power consumption.

We also had to design for a long field life, avoiding processor obsolescence issues.

Using an FPGA at the heart of the design has enabled us to keep size and power down while guaranteeing upgradability.

An FPGA has fewer overheads than a processor, it doesn't need an OS, can use lower clock speeds - especially when we take advantage of hardware parallelism and functions not in use do not require power".

Murray continued, "DK1 is a powerful tool for tackling low-level design issues at a higher level of abstraction.

We have an object-oriented design approach, which DK1 lets us take straight to hardware.

We generate our system models in UML and translate them to Handel-C in the DK1 environment, using its simulation capabilities to prove the design.

This approach ensures that the interfacing between objects is established before design commitments are made.

With the system design simplified to such a degree, one of the biggest challenges was minimising the physical size of the support components required".

DK1 is being used to design-out obsolete components and update functionality for PII's TranScan System.

The final design implements all of the tool's major functions by emulating obsolete processors on a 600,000-gate Altera PLD.

As the TranScan tool travels through a pipeline it uses powerful magnets to induce a magnetic flux around the internal surfaces.

The magnetic flux is distorted as it encounters anomalies such as pitting, cracking, poor welds or dents.

Sensors built around the circumference of the tool record the changes in flux from up to 1500 positions around the circumference of the pipe for every 3mm travelled.

The data are stored for analysis once the tool is recovered from the pipeline and is used to identify the nature and position of any flaws to ensure the continued safety and productivity of the pipe system.

The tool is propelled through the pipeline by what ever product is carried in it, gases, crude oil, refined products or water, at the normal working temperatures and pressures of the pipeline, an environment extremely hostile to electronics.

Commenting on the sale, Dennis Nye, senior vice president, worldwide sales and marketing, Celoxica said, "We are delighted to be working with such an innovative company.

PII provides a critical service in the maintenance and supply of energy, chemical and water resources throughout the world with technologies that address the toughest and most pressing challenges.

PII provides the smallest in-line inspection tools in the world to gather data on oil and gas pipes down to three inches in size, considered "unpiggable" by much of the rest of pipeline support industry.

Tools for these pipes require the smallest of circuits and this new solution will help the company deliver smaller, more flexible designs to the market".

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