A customer from Australia included Axon programmable logic controllers into a project of smart eco-village with wide use of automation.
CATIM is an Australian company providing its customers with a wide range of automation solutions for smart home, industry or infrastructure, along with communication systems, enterprise solutions, mechatronics, photovoltaics and smart home IoT.
Currently, the company is working on a project of an intelligent distribution box for houses and shared buildings with the goal of achieving a more economic usage of available resources (water, energy, gas, security systems etc.) through sharing data between households and infrastructure components. This concept includes smart home elements to allow property owners a centralised control of appliances, lighting, air conditioning, ventilation and heating. As a practical realisation of the idea the company then created the CATIM Eco Village concept, consisting of 120 interconnected family houses utilizing a smart infrastructure that will include solar cogeneration panels, automated irrigation, centralised access and payment system, smart street lighting, smart illumination of roadways and parking lots etc.
The mentioned smart distribution boxes are the core of the system, using the Unipi Axon M205 programmable logic controller; aside from digital and analogue I/Os, this variant also features 14 relay outputs, three serial interfaces (RS485+RS232), 1Gbit Ethernet and other useful features. Along with the Axon, the company also uses the PRO1-Mod smart three-phase energy meters. From the software point of view, the system utilized the Mervis platform.
Such distribution boxes will be distributed to each house and several multi-purpose community buildings. Their goal will be to continuously monitor operations of the infrastructure through a large suite of sensors, valves and other devices, and to optimize the operation to reduce consumption of water, energy and other resources.
Example of monitoring and regulation of water consumption within the project
Currently, CATIM is engaged to include the following features into the project:
Water consumption monitoring
The system is designed to used smart water consumption meters that monitor the water consumption in real-time and allow for early detection of any possible leaks. Water feeds to taps and toilets can be controlled remotely via solenoid valves. The system also includes monitoring of water reservoir capacity and automated irrigation using soil humidity sensors and remotely controlled sprinklers.
Surveillance and security
An access system based on personal RFID chips is planned for all payment terminals and buildings. Access data will be stored and used for billing of expenses related to using shared services. For surveillance and protection against vandalism, CCTV security cameras and presence monitoring systems will be employed.
Households
Each house in the village will feature an integrated semi-customised smart home system. CATIM plans to offer the system in three pricing levels depending on the number of available features. The system is also made as a universal solution that can be integrated into prefabricated buildings supplied by four different manufacturers.
Further info
Photo documentation
CATIM smart distribution box
