The Connected Factory Process In A Nutshell

1. In order to run application firmware, a Production Device must have been blessed — ie. it must have been assigned to the Production Device Group to which the latest application firmware has been deployed.

2. To make a Production Device, you must bless a Device Under Test (DUT). To do so, you call the imp API method server.bless() on the DUT, which is running DUT firmware, one type of two types of factory firmware. Only DUT firmware can call server.bless(). It should also include hardware tests you have written, and run these before calling server.bless().

3. To get the DUT firmware onto a DUT, you connect the DUT to the factory network via WiFi or Ethernet, or to a cellular network, depending on the type of imp on which your product is based.

4. To get an impCloud access authorization token (and factory network credentials, if required) onto the DUT, you perform BlinkUp in the factory, which you initiate by calling the imp API method server.factoryblinkup() on your BlinkUp fixture. You can only call server.factoryblinkup() on a BlinkUp fixture which is running fixture firmware, a second type of factory firmware.

5. Putting all this together, this is what you need to put a product into production:

   • An impCentral™ Product — what you will be manufacturing.
   • An impCentral DUT Device Group — the group to which DUTs will be assigned upon factory BlinkUp.
   • An impCentral Production Device Group — the group to which your Production Devices will be assigned upon blessing.
   • An impCentral Fixture Device Group — the group to which you assign your assembly line’s BlinkUp fixtures.
   • Your fixture firmware — promoted code that runs on the BlinkUp fixtures.
   • Your DUT firmware — promoted code that runs on DUTs before blessing.
   • Your application firmware — promoted code that runs on Production Devices after blessing.

6. Using impCentral you:

   • Set the Production Device Group as the first of the Fixture Device Group’s targets.
   • Set the DUT Device Group as the second of the Fixture Device Group’s targets.
   • Promote and deploy the DUT firmware from a Test DUT Device Group to the DUT Device Group.
   • Promote and deploy the fixture firmware from a Test Fixture Device Group to the Fixture Device Group.
   • Promote and deploy the application firmware from a Development Device Group to the Production Device Group.

Devices, Groups, Firmware and Assigner Summary