Why Bedrock OSA®

Automation users have been calling for open automation since at least 1997, when they formed the OpenGroup, which advances “open, vendor-neutral technology standards and certifications to achieve business objectives.” Among the groups more than 600 members are the world’s most sophisticated oil and gas companies, energy producers, and public utilities.

The OpenGroup endorsed the concept of “security by design” around 2015, with the formation of its Open Process Automation Forum, which has issued specifications for the control system needed for the next generation of industrial connectivity.

Today, only Bedrock Automation is delivering an industrial control system with the characteristics that the Open Process Automation Forum believes the market needs.

Learn more about why OSA is the future of process automation available today

 

Open Control

Open control optimizes your process at lower cost with fewer headaches. Bedrock provides free IEC 61131 engineering software, Secure OPC UA communications, and universal I/O.

Intrinsic Security

Bolting cyber security protection onto legacy automation can be costly and risky. Only Bedrock has cyber security built-in to its electronics.

High Performance Automation

Profiting from digitization requires high bandwidth and speed, which Bedrock’s universal secure platform delivers for PLC, RTU and DCS applications ranging from ten to thousands of I/O.

Open Secure Automation delivers the highest levels of system performance, cyber security and reliability at the lowest lifecycle cost.

CostCost SecuritySecurity ReliabilityReliability PerformancePerformance
 

Cost:

 

Bedrock’s solution significantly reduces lifecycle costs in all areas including system engineering, installation, commissioning, maintenance, and the emergent cost of cyber security. As the designer and manufacturer of virtually all of our own active silicon components, Bedrock can offer non-obsolescence of the system and singularly eliminate the most expensive aspect of lifecycle cost.

Security:

 

Bedrock has layered and embedded cyber security that begins at the transistor level with secure microcontrollers and memory, hardware accelerators, and true random number generation. This is the foundation of our secure platform and any system without this embedded security is inherently vulnerable.

System software is another core tenet. Bedrock’s controller is built upon the world’s most safe and secure RTOS. This means it will continue operating even while facing persistent attacks.

Physical protection is critical to cyber security and Bedrock has that covered. The Black Fabric® communication with no I/O pins enables strong anti-snoop protection while sealed all-metal modules keep cyber predators at bay. The only way to open a controller module is with a metal saw which would trigger the casing sensors to destroy the memory and keep IP safe.

The supply chain is also secured via a proven Device Lifecycle Management (DLM) system. This enables all hardware and software used in the control system to be authenticated. This platform cryptography can then be extended and authenticated to third-party software and applications. This is security done right, from the inside out.

Reliability:

 

Pins are the leading cause of functional failures in industrial control systems (ICS). Bedrock’s system has zero I/O pins and instead utilizes a never-before-seen electromagnetic interconnection for both power and communications.

Cables with connectors are another leading ICS failure mode. Bedrock’s system utilizes electromagnetic interconnect and Black Fabric® communications to eliminate system cables with a single universal cable to connect the system to all field I/O. The cable design includes a patented strain relief knuckle to assist in optimal installation practices and extended life. Reducing virtually all cables, except one, dramatically improves system run time reliability.

Bedrock’s system provides inherent extreme galvanic isolation that allows reliable operation in even the harshest electrical environments. With Class 1, Division 2 certification and an operating temperature range of -40C to +80C*, virtually no application or location is too harsh.

Bedrock’s smart universal power supply is backplane-coupled and cyber-enabled, providing advanced operational awareness and diagnostics to minimize maintenance and avoid downtime. It also has no fans and utilizes all-metal construction which, coupled to the metal backplane, enables efficient heat management to ensure reliable, long-term operation.

At Bedrock we obsess on Zero, including the quest for zero defect by design. This quest gives us the confidence to offer a full five year warranty.

Examples of how we get there include:

  • Unify and Simplify: Minimized modules and components, patented highly integrated digital and analog ASICs, patented single universal field cable supporting all I/O.
  • Eliminate Failure Modes with patented design solutions: Address the top failure modes by eliminating them, including backplane pins, module pins, board interconnects, cabling and an advanced technique we call “component thermal unity.”
  • Advanced Patented Mechanical Design: Precision machined, all aluminum, all metal construction with zero plastics, FIP140 compliant sealed anti-tamper module construction.

*Requires 24V DC power – see data sheet for specifications.

Performance:

 

Bedrock’s system is architected on a patented 4GB backplane. Combined with unparalleled computing power in every system module, all I/O is refreshed at a fixed rate independent of system size. This kind of unprecedented performance enables ease of use, higher process yields, and more precise control. Patented I/O module circuits enable truly universal, software-configurable analog and discrete I/O. This enables automation solutions engineered with just three I/O module types.

Using patented deep submicron transistor designs, the Bedrock Controller system combines ARM Cortex multi-core CPU with over 20 additional custom computation engines to manage backplane communications, cryptographic computation, block processing, and interlink redundancy. This patented digital architecture is supported by 512MB of DDR3 RAM for programs and 8GB of Flash for data. All this technology delivers a Universal Secure Controller for nearly all control types including Discrete, Batch and Continuous.

Open System:

Advantages of the Bedrock open system include:

  1. Open I/O to any legacy and future systems
  2. Open controller to any legacy and future systems
  3. Open through OPCUA to any SCADA/HMI software solution
  4. Designed to run any OEM SCADA and control software package
  5. Crypto tools for third-party applications
  6. Perpetual “Best of Breed” technology available