Handshake

In industrial settings, the handshake mechanism serves as a foundational protocol essential for devices to establish, coordinate, and terminate communication sessions. This process is critical in ensuring reliable, synchronized, and error-free data exchanges between machines, sensors, and control systems, which is vital for the smooth operation of industrial processes. 

At its core, the handshake mechanism involves a series of signals or messages exchanged between communicating devices. These signals confirm each device’s readiness, synchronize timing, manage data flow, and verify successful data transmission. For instance, in industrial robots and PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers), various signals, including 'E-stop ok' and 'guard door closed,' ensure the system's safety before operation begins. Once safety conditions are met, the servo power can be initialized, and robots can start their tasks, with proper signals indicating when the motors should be on or off. The concept of handshaking has evolved significantly over time. Early mechanisms can be traced back to the telegraph system, where rudimentary forms of acknowledging signals were used for communication. The telegraph paved the way for more advanced forms of data transmission, directly influencing modern computing and communication systems. Telegraph news services vastly improved the speed and reliability of information dissemination, laying the groundwork for contemporary handshaking protocols. 

In today’s era, marked by the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and advanced automation, robust handshake mechanisms are indispensable. They ensure not only the operational efficiency and safety of industrial systems but also facilitate the seamless integration and real-time data flow across diverse environments. Modern industrial communication protocols, such as those using Ethernet or Fieldbus technologies, demonstrate these principles vividly. They enable more sophisticated features like coordinating robot motion, confirming program execution, and managing program states. 

Handshake mechanisms hold significant importance in industrial communication systems, offering a multitude of benefits that enhance reliability, efficiency, and security in various industrial applications, as follow: 

Handshake mechanisms are employed extensively to ensure reliable communication, synchronization, and control across various domains as follows: 

With the Experience of over 30 years, Hilscher has established itself as a market leader in industrial communication by offering a range of solutions that facilitate the seamless integration of machines and devices into various network standards. Their multiprotocol communication products, such as chips, pc cards and embedded modules, are designed for highly integrated solutions, ensuring that machines worldwide can communicate automatically, quickly, and securely. These solutions span from legacy fieldbuses to industrial ethernet, enabling the networking from sensor to the cloud. 

The core of Hilscher's offerings is their netX technoloy with high performance SoCs for master and slave applications and suitable protocol stacks, which form the foundation of many of their solutions. This technology allows for the integration of machines regardless of the network standard, providing communication solutions that simplify the process for system integrators and end-users alike. Additionally, Hilscher's edge management solutions grant access to machine data, paving the way to Industry 4.0 by leveraging edge gateways with container management and centralized edge management systems.