Machine-to-Machine
SECS/GEM Interface
ROLE: Contracted Development
Machine-to-Machine (M2M)
One small step for machine, one giant leap toward IoT connectivity!
This project was a retrofit project in which we added an SECS/GEM interface to a legacy equipment design.
From Wiki: SECS/GEM is the semiconductor’s equipment interface protocol for equipment-to-host data communications. In an automated semi-conductor fabrication facility, the interface can start and stop equipment processing, collect measurement data, change variables and select recipes for products. The SECS (SEMI Equipment Communications Standard)/GEM (Generic Equipment Model) standards do all this in a defined way.
What’s it all mean? The equipment was controlled only by a local human operator. With the addition of SECS/GEM the equipment can now also share its operating data in near real-time and be controlled remotely. The remote control is typically via a locally-networked computer called an SECS/GEM host. The addition of SECS/GEM is a small step in exposing equipment capability and the foundation to further enable the equipment to leap into a larger IoT role in the future. For instance, the new capability to share its internal operating data with the outside world allows applications to go beyond SECS/GEM such as interaction with ERP systems, advance data analytics, and other global operational functions.
