Pump Station and Water Plant Unattended Terminal Solution
Unattended pump stations can run on an RK3576 edge terminal: it polls PLCs, meters and soft starters over RS485/Modbus, and reports to the water platform over 4G and wired links. The core is a local loop — level, current or temperature breaches are judged on site and linked to pump start/stop, buffering data during outages for later upload. A panel selector plus software state confirms control authority, local-first with manageable remote access, while emergency stop, dry-run and over-temperature protection stay hard-wired. Hongyin Tech offers a free review and complete-terminal customization, with selection advice within 48 hours.
Pain Points
- Stations are scattered and remote, so staffing each site keeps labor and travel costs high
- PLCs vary by brand and generation, with inconsistent RS485/Modbus point definitions
- During outages or platform maintenance, data stays local and cannot be backfilled afterwards
- Pump faults and level overruns are found manually, so night-time response lags noticeably
- Humid, dusty pump houses with lightning and voltage surges raise the failure rate of ordinary industrial devices
Recommended Hardware Configuration
| SoC platform | RK3576 (4×Cortex-A72 + 4×Cortex-A53) running Linux for always-on duty; refer to the datasheet for details |
|---|---|
| AI computing power | 6TOPS NPU for lightweight local analysis of level trends and current waveforms, used as advisory hints only |
| Memory & storage | Optional LPDDR4/LPDDR5 with eMMC as primary storage plus expansion, retaining months of acquisition and alarm records locally |
| Video input | MIPI CSI / USB cameras and RTSP network cameras for viewing pump rooms and wet wells |
| Network & interfaces | Dual Ethernet plus 4G cellular for mutual backup, RS485/RS232, DI/DO, 4–20mA and relay outputs with Modbus RTU/TCP |
| Enclosure & protection | Metal enclosure with moisture-proof coating and independent grounding, wide-temperature design plus surge and lightning protection; ingress rating set by project requirements |
Software Capabilities
- Protocol acquisition: polls PLCs, meters and soft starters from different vendors via a configurable point table, running Modbus RTU/TCP and custom protocols in parallel
- Linkage control: starts and stops pumps and drives valve DO outputs against level, flow, current and temperature thresholds, with delay confirmation and equipment interlocking
- Control authority: remote commands are accepted only after both the panel selector and software state agree; a lost link falls back to local logic, local-first by design
- Store-and-forward: time-stamped readings and alarms are written to storage and uploaded in order once the network recovers, keeping platform curves continuous
- Platform integration: reports to water utility platforms over MQTT/HTTP/Modbus TCP, with point mapping and status acknowledgement per project protocol documents
Deliverables & Services
- Requirement review (free): clarify site count, acquisition points, control loops and platform interfaces, and deliver selection and retrofit scope advice
- Hardware design: core board selection, carrier board customization, isolated IO, surge and moisture protection design
- BSP/drivers/protocols: system trimming, serial and IO driver adaptation, Modbus point tables and linkage logic development
- Prototype integration: build the prototype, run on-site pump station trials, and integrate with existing PLCs, SCADA and the water platform
- Low-volume and mass-production support: low MOQ, batch consistency and remote firmware upgrade maintenance
FAQ
Q：Should a pump station terminal use RK3576 or RK3588?
For stations dominated by acquisition, protocol conversion and local linkage, RK3576 (4×A72 + 4×A53, 6TOPS NPU) is sufficient, and its power and cost profile suits one-terminal-per-site deployment. If a single station must take multiple video channels with real-time analysis, RK3588 can be evaluated; refer to the datasheet for interface and codec details. Share your point table and camera count for selection advice within 48 hours.
Q：What makes up the cost of an unattended pump station terminal?
Cost comes down to three parts: the number of acquisition points and control loops drives IO count and isolation design; camera channels and retention period drive memory and storage; the number of platforms to integrate drives protocol development effort. A standard core board plus carrier board changes little, while a full custom enclosure and multi-platform integration add investment. Start with a free requirement review that fixes the point table, camera count and interface documents before estimating — no inflated pricing.
Q：How are remote and local control switched, and how is safety interlocking handled?
Control authority uses two-level confirmation: a panel selector provides the local/remote state, software reads it back, and remote commands are allowed only when both agree. Local-first is the default — if the link drops or the platform goes offline, the terminal falls back to local logic, and remote access can only change setpoints, never bypass on-site operation. Emergency stop, dry-run, over-temperature and over-pressure protection remain on hard-wired interlocks independent of network and software, while remote start/stop adds delay confirmation and equipment interlocking to prevent false operation.
Q：Legacy pump stations use mixed PLC brands — how do they connect to an existing water platform?
Downstream, the terminal polls PLCs and meters of different brands over Modbus RTU/TCP with a configurable point table, so existing controllers need not be replaced. Upstream it supports MQTT/HTTP/Modbus TCP, mapping points and backfilling data per the water platform's interface documents. If the existing SCADA uses other protocols, a protocol gateway can convert them; specifics follow the project's technical documents, and certification is submitted as the project requires.
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