Articles

RT-Labs Supports Unimelb Rover Team’s EtherCAT Journey

For KK Group, this question arose when Functional Safety requirements shifted from an analog to a digital safety interface, while preserving the existing platform remained a key priority.

With the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) becoming applicable in december 2027, industrial cybersecurity is shifting from a recommendation to a legal requirement. At the same time, no harmonized certification standard has been finalized yet, which means many organizations need to act proactively rather than wait for formal guidance. At RT-Labs, we are already working to […]

RT-Labs announces that it has joined the STMicroelectronics Partner Program to integrate its Ethernet-based industrial communication stacks into ST’s development environments and microcontroller platforms.

Foxglove integration for RT-Kernel is more than just a software add-on; it’s a bridge between two worlds. It brings the observability and agility of modern robotics development into embedded real-time systems.

SOEM v2.0 SOEM (Simple Open EtherCAT Master) is a widely used open source EtherCAT implementation. With version 2.0, the project reaches a major milestone, introducing significant new features, modernized architecture, and more than forty important fixes that strengthen stability and reliability. In this post we use the term MainDevice in place of the traditional “Master” […]

P-Net Profinet stack now even more robust In May 2025, Nozomi Networks Labs ran an extensive fuzz testing campaign against P-Net version 1.0.1, our open-source C implementation of the PROFINET protocol. This in-depth analysis uncovered 10 memory corruption vulnerabilities, all associated with UDP-based RPC handling. The vulnerabilities included heap-based buffer overflows, out-of-bounds reads and writes, […]

Industrial devices in python U-Phy is a software library that brings industrial Ethernet protocols—such as PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP, and more—into the hands of Python developers. It lets you develop industrial devices right from your PC, with no dedicated hardware required. Perfect for quick prototyping or full implementation of industrial communication. In this quick guide, […]

In this interview, Roger Kulläng, former Head of Development at ABB Robotics, shares his insights into how software has transformed industrial robotics—from 8 kilobytes in 1974 to becoming half the product’s total value today.

Implementing industrial protocols like PROFINET and EtherCAT can be complex, but it doesn’t have to be. Discover five practical solutions that simplify development, speed up certification, and future-proof your industrial devices.

From Hardware-Centric to Software-Defined Industrial devices need to communicate reliably — across networks, between systems, and under real-time constraints. But adding support for multiple fieldbus or Ethernet-based protocols has traditionally been both complex and time-consuming. Developers are often faced with fragmented solutions, high learning curves, and limited flexibility. That’s why the recent partnership between RT-Labs […]

Predictive Maintenance (PdM) uses real-time data and AI to detect issues before failures, reducing downtime and costs. Its success depends on fast, reliable industrial communication.

Is specialized hardware for industrial networking on its way out? In many cases – YES. Here are five reasons why many leading protocols no longer need dedicated chips or boards to deliver needed network performance.

The Cyber Resilience Act, effective December 2024 with obligations from December 2027, introduces robust cybersecurity requirements for products with digital elements. This regulation aims to enhance security across lifecycles, mandating secure design, lifecycle updates, and third-party certifications. How will this impact industrial communication protocols?

In industrial networking, ensuring reliable, efficient, and secure communication is essential. Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) play a critical role in achieving these objectives, particularly when integrated with industrial protocols. This article gives an overview on how VLANs function within industrial networks.

Dedicated EtherCAT enabled PLCs have long been the industry standard, but software-based solutions like SOEM offer flexibility, cost savings, and the ability to optimize control using C programming. Understanding these differences will help in choosing the right solution for your needs.

As industries become increasingly connected, the need for robust cybersecurity measures within industrial networks increases. Industrial Ethernet, an essential component of modern automation, not only enables seamless communication but also carries the responsibility of ensuring secure data exchange between interconnected devices. Cyber threats are evolving at a rapid pace, and the vulnerabilities in operational technology (OT) can lead to substantial operational and financial losses. This article explores the key principles of cybersecurity in industrial Ethernet and how RT-Labs’ FSoE product provides an excellent example of security implemented at the foundational level.

In this article, we’ll walk through a Lua script that not only calculates the minimum, maximum, and average time deltas between Profinet packets but also computes additional statistics to provide a deeper understanding of packet timing variations and network performance.

Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) is a set of IEEE standards that enhances Ethernet with deterministic, low-latency communication for precise industrial operations.

RT-Labs is proud to announce the release of its FailSafe over EtherCAT (FSoE) stack, now available in a SIL3 certified version. This new version brings enhanced safety and reliability to industrial communication, offering a pre-certified solution that significantly simplifies the certification process for end products.