BEI's SwiftComm wireless encoder interface is an entirely unique wireless industrial sensor interface system, built with motion control applications in mind.

The SwiftComm system includes the transmitter-receiver pair, which communicates using a point-to-point frequency-hopping 2.4 GHz RF protocol. SwiftComm’s proprietary radio protocols include a broad security code range, data encryption, handshaking, interference recovery, and error checking that together provides a secure and robust wireless interface system. 

Ruggedness and flexibility are further enhanced with SwiftComm’s NEMA 4 weatherproof enclosures, panel mounting options, antenna choices and wide-range DC power inputs.

Following are some of the unique features SwiftComm will provide your wireless application:

It is critical in any motion control applications to have minimum lag time in signal transmission.  Delays in data to the controller can cause major problems.  SwiftComm is one of the fastest wireless sensor interfaces available.  Data is relayed between the transmitter and receiver every 600 microseconds (µs).   Because SwiftComm is a point-to-point configuration, there is no inherent latency.

BEI’s SwiftComm wireless encoder interface operates on the 2.4 GHz ISM radio band and uses Adaptive Frequency Hopping Protocol (AFH).  This helps avoid data interruptions due to frequency interference.  If a particular radio band encounters interference, SwiftComm seamlessly hops to another open band.  This technology decreases the susceptibility to interference thereby increasing overall reliability. 

The SwiftComm hopping algorithm uses 75 ISM channels in a pseudo-random sequence.  To enhance RF link reliability even more, when SwiftComm detects interference on a channel, that channel is dropped from the hop sequence and SwiftComm will avoid using that channel in the future.  If the available channels list ever becomes exhausted, previous dropped channels are retested to see if they are clear.

SwiftComm’s patent pending technology can even overcome data loss due to link interruption.  Internally and transparent to the user, SwiftComm keeps track of the encoder’s output signal.  If SwiftComm encounters packet loss from temporary link interruption, it fills in the encoder’s output information based on the historical data trend.  It then processes this information in place of the lost packet.  When a valid packet of information is received, SwiftComm determines any accumulated error and sends any corrections to the controller.  So even in environments where occasional packets are lost, SwiftComm will transmit a seamless stream of data to the control system.

SwiftComm provides a very secure system for your data to travel wirelessly.  The transmitter and receiver each have a 40-bit hard coded security code.  These codes are programmed at the factory and give the system a range of over 500 billion possible unique codes.  BEI has developed its own proprietary protocol for SwiftComm, which is not available to the public.  Additionally, the data is transmitted with a high-level encryption algorithm and pseudo-random frequency hopping.  This provides additional levels of data security to assure that your data is protected.

Because motion control applications can vary widely, SwiftComm was designed with a 50 mW radio.  This provides SwiftComm with reliable long-range communication.  In most open situations, a reliable link distance of up to 1,000 feet is possible.  Inside buildings, a reliable link distance is more on the order of 300 feet.