Configurations and Use Cases

Device Models and Communication Methods

Not every device can use every communication method. The radio is built into the device, so the model you own determines which methods are available to it, and therefore which configurations it can join.

The following table lists the models that FORT Manager supports. A model that has reached end of support is not listed, even if the device is still in service. For more information, see SRC Pro Models and Support Status.

You can find a device's model number on its nameplate, in a handheld's onscreen menu, or in FORT Manager on the Devices page. For the radio specifications of each model, see

• EPC Technical Specifications
• SRC Pro Technical Specifications
• WES Pro Technical Specifications

One-to-One Configuration

In a One-to-One (1:1) configuration, you configure a single sender connected to a single receiver.

For the sender, you can use an SRC Pro, EPC, or WES Pro.

For the receiver, you can use either an EPC or an NSC Pro.

The following table shows details about a One-to-One configuration:

The following figure shows possible One-to-One configurations:

One-to-Many Configuration

In a One-to-Many (1: many) configuration, a single EPC sender is connected to and able to send a safety signal to multiple EPCs or NSC Pros at once.

The following table shows details about a One-to-One configuration:

The following figure illustrates two possible One-to-Many configurations:

Machine Select Configuration

In a Machine Select Configuration, one SRC Pro recognizes multiple receivers (all EPCs or all NSC Pros, not a mix) but can connect to and control only one at a time. For example, an equipment operator can connect to a machine in the yard with an SRC Pro, manuever it out to a work area, place it in unsupervised mode and go back to the yard to pick up a different machine. The machine can continue to run safely in unsupervised mode (assuming it has autonomous capabilities) while disconnected from the SRC Pro. See the discussion that follows in Supervised and Unsupervised Mode.

The following table shows details about a Machine Select Configuration:

Two-to-One Configuration

A Two-to-One (2:1) configuration has two senders and one receiver, which allows either of two people to send an E-Stop signal to the receiver and the EUC. The possible combinations are as follows:

• SRC Pro and WES Pro senders with one EPC, communicating over LRBLE.

• SRC Pro and EPC senders with an EPC, communicating over ISM or Bluetooth.

• SRC Pro and EPC senders with an EPC, communicating over LRBLE. This combination requires model 1003 for all three devices. For more information, see Two-to-One over Long-Range Bluetooth

• WES Pro and EPC senders with one NSC Pro, communicating over LRBLE. For more information, see Two-to-One with a WES Pro and an EPC.

• WES Pro and EPC senders with one EPC, communicating over LRBLE, with the option of Ethernet for the EPC sender. For more information, see Two-to-One with a WES Pro and an EPC.

For example, in a configuration with an SRC Pro and a WES Pro or an SRC Pro and an EPC, the equipment operator could control the machine with an SRC Pro and push the E-Stop at any time to resolve a safety issue. At the same time, another person could observe the operation from a different vantage point and press the E-Stop on the WES Pro or on the EPC sender if they see a safety issue.

In a different scenario, the equipment operator uses the SRC Pro to drive the equipment to a work area and then puts the EPC attached to the equipment under control (EUC) in unsupervised mode. In this case, the SRC Pro does not control movement of the EUC nor will pressing the E-Stop affect the EUC. However, the secondary controller, a WES Pro or EPC, can still send an E-Stop signal to the EPC receiver attached to the EUC.

The following figure illustrates a Two-to-One configuration with SRC Pro and WES Pro senders.

The following table shows details about a Two-to-One configuration:

For which radios each device model carries, see Device Models and Communciation Methods

Two-to-One over Long-Range Bluetooth

In this configuration an SRC Pro and an EPC both act as senders to a single EPC receiver, and all three communicate over Long-Range Bluetooth (LRBLE). It suits work areas where the operator needs to drive a machine at a distance while a second person retains independent authority to stop it, and where running Ethernet or an ISM radio to the E-Stop station is impractical.

Two-to-One with a WES Pro and an EPC

In this configuration a handheld WES Pro and a fixed EPC both act as senders to a single receiver, and either one can stop the equipment. Unlike the other Two-to-One configurations, neither sender drives or maneuvers the machine — both exist only to stop it.

It suits deployments where each machine has a dedicated human minder who carries a stop device, and the facility also needs a stop that does not depend on any one person being present. A robot working alongside people, supervised one-to-one during an early rollout, is the case this configuration was built for.

Choosing Which Output the Senders Control

Use Output to Control on the General tab to choose whether the senders drive Output 1 or Output 2 of the receiver. You can control one or the other, not both.

The choice applies to the whole configuration rather than to an individual device, so both senders act on the output you pick. Two things must then be wired to match it.

Wire the EPC sender's input to match

The EPC sender's usable input follows the output you selected. FORT Manager grays out the one that does not apply, and Input 3 is reserved and always grayed out.

Table 7. EPC Sender Input by Output Selection

Output to Control	Wire the E-Stop Device to	J1 pins on the sender	Grayed Out
Output #1	Input 1	6 (Channel 0) and 3 (Channel 1)	Input 2, Input 3
Output #2	Input 2	5 (Channel 0) and 2 (Channel 1)	Input 1, Input 3

Inputs are dual channel pairs in the same way outputs are. For more information, see Wiring Safety Devices and Power to EPC Sender

Wire the Receiver's Output Pins to Match

Each output is a dual-channel pair on the receiver's J1 connector — one pin from Channel 0 and one from Channel 1. Wire both pins of the pair for the output you selected.

Table 8. Output to J1 Connector Pins (EPC Receiver)

Output to Control	J1 Pins	Signals
Output #1	18 and 23	OUT3_CONN (Channel 1, Output 1) and OUT0_CONN (Channel 0, Output 1)
Output #2	17 and 22	OUT4_CONN (Channel 1, Output 2) and OUT1_CONN (Channel 0, Output 2)

For the full pinout, see EPC I/O Connector Pinout and Cable.

Warning:

Wire both pins of the pair. Each output is a dual channel output, and connecting only one pin leaves you with a single channel where the safety function assumes two.

Warning:

If the output you selected in FORT Manager does not match the pins you wired, the equipment will not stop when a sender requests a stop. Verify the selection against the wiring before putting the configuration into production, and test a stop from each sender.

bYou cannont change the output later

Important:

The output a configuration controls is set when the configuration is created and cannot be changed afterwards. To use the other output, build a new configuration and load it onto your devices.

Building a configuration requires a connection to FORT Manager, so a wrong output selection cannot be corrected in the field.

SRC Pro with Global E-Stop Configuration

In an SRC Pro with Global E-Stop configuration, an SRC Pro recognizes multiple receivers but can connect to and control only one EPC at a time, and in addition, an EPC can send a safety signal to all receivers at once.

The Safe Remote Control Pro can control and send safety signals to any one EPC receiver at a time and the EPC sender can send safety signals to all the EPC receivers in the configuration at once.

For example, imagine a situation in which you have a number of autonomous machines that are parked in a yard for the night. At the beginning of the workday, you use a Safe Remote Control Pro to connect to one of the machines and drive it to the work area. Once the machine is at the work site, you put the EPC in unsupervised mode so the machine can work autonomously. You now walk back to the yard and use the Safe Remote Control Pro to connect to and pull out another machine.

At this point, the first machine that you moved is operating without the Safe Remote Control Pro in control. However, with this configuration, an EPC is still connected to the machine that is operating autonomously, allowing a supervisor to press the E-Stop button on the sender EPC and stop the machine if necessary.

In practice you could place an EPC sender in a location, such as a balcony, that overlooks the entire work area. After an operator releases one or more machines to work autonomously and walks out of the work area, a supervisor could still monitor the autonomous machines and issue an E-Stop command at any time.

The following figure illustrates this configuration. The EPC sender can send an E-Stop to every EPC that is connected to a vehicle and the Safe Remote Control Pro (using Machine Select) can connect to any one EPC at a time for safety and control functions.

Note these points about this configuration:

• Inputs 1 and 2 are unused on the sender EPC (single EPC on the left of the figure).

• Outputs 1 and 2 are unused on the receiver EPCs (three EPCs on the right of the figure).

• When a Safe Remote Control Pro is connected to a receiver EPC in supervised mode, pressing either the global E-Stop on the EPC or the E-Stop button on the Safe Remote Control Pro turns off Output 3 on the receiver EPC (also note that the Safe Remote Control Pro affects the connected machine only, whereas the global E-Stop shuts off Output 3 on all devices).

• When a Safe Remote Control Pro is connected to a receiver EPC in unsupervised mode, only pressing the global E-Stop1 on the EPC will turn off Output 3 on the receiver EPCs. The Safe Remote Control Pro E-Stop is ignored and will not turn off Output 3.

The following table shows details about an SRC Pro and EPC Hybrid configuration:

See the next section for steps you may need to take if your configuration connects devices through Ethernet, and your network contains complex message routing and firewall rules.

UDP Port Allocation for Ethernet Connections

If your configuration connects devices through Ethernet, and your network contains complex message routing and firewall rules, you may need to set up UDP port allocation rules to ensure that data packets move seamlessly back and forth between your devices over an Ethernet network. This section does not apply to configurations that communicate only over LRBLE, ISM, or Bluetooth.

In a configuration with an EPC sender and EPC receivers, a receiver EPC makes requests to the sender at destination port 5683 (~2/sec).

In response, the sender sends data packets to the receiver (every 40 ms) to at least two randomly chosen UDP destination ports but using fixed port 5683. The destination ports change with the power cycle and may also change after an indeterminate amount of time elapses.

Because the destination ports of the safety packets are not fixed, you must set firewall filtering and port forwarding rules to use source port 5683 for sending safety packets (for example on the gateway serving the receiver EPC).

To configure firewall rules, issue the following two commands in a terminal:

where:

• 192.168.2.1 is the IP address of the sender EPC in its subnet.

• 192.168.2.2 is the IP address of the receiver EPC in its subnet.

Here is a brief summary of what these commands do:

• The rule implemented by the first command allows incoming UDP packets from IP address 192.168.1.1 originating from source port 5683 to pass through the firewall.

• The rule implemented by the second command redirects UDP packets with source port 5683 to the IP address 192.168.2.2 by modifying their destination address.

Building a Configuration

Use the FORT Manager Web App, the FORT Manager Desktop App, or the FORT API to build a configuration. These instructions are applicable to all types of configurations.

Before you Begin

Make sure that:

• You’ve created a FORT Manager account and added your devices to FORT Manager.

• You know what kind of configuration you plan to build (refer to the Configurations table).

• You know which communication method the configuration will use, and you have confirmed that every device you plan to add supports it. Configurations that use LRBLE require model 1003 throughout. For more information, see Device Models and Communication Methods.

• You know the details of your IP network:

  • If using Ethernet, the gateway address, range of available IP addresses, netmask, and optional DNS server.

  • If using Wi-Fi, network name and password, gateway address, range of available IP addresses, netmask, and optional DNS server.

  • If you are using the FORT API, you have created an API key in FORT Manager and you know your organization ID.

• If using CAN, which protocol — CANopen or J1939. Both are disabled by default. Which protocols are available depends on the receiver in your configuration:

  • An EPC receiver supports J1939 and CANopen.

  • An NSC Pro receiver supports J1939 only. For more information, see Data Interfaces (NSC Pro)

To Create a Configuration and Add Devices

(Requires the FORT Manager ConfigManager or Admin role.)

1. Navigate to the FORT Manager Web App and enter your credentials when prompted.

2. Click Configurations in the left navigation pane.

3. Click New Setup.

4. On the Setup Details page, select one of the following:

   • use SRCP as my controller

   • use EPC as my controller

   • use WESP as my controller

   1. If you are using a single sender, click Continue to accept the default of no secondary sender.

   2. If you want to have an SRC Pro as well as an EPC sender, select use SRCP as my controller, then select Yes for an EPC secondary controller. For more information, see Two-to-One over Long-Range Bluetooth.

   3. If you want to have WES Pro as well as SRC Pro senders, select use WESP as my controller, then select Yes for SRCP as a secondary controller.

   4. If you want to have a WES Pro as well as an EPC sender, select use WESP as my controller, then select Yes for an EPC secondary controller. For more information, see Two-to-One with a WES Pro and an EPC.

5. In Setup Name, type a name to identify your configuration and click Continue.

6. On the Select Sender page, select a device to use from the list to use as a sender and click Continue.

   Note:

   A device that has reached end of support does not appear in the device list, and cannot be added to a new configuration. This does not mean the device has failed. For more information, see SRC Pro Models and Support Status.

7. Optionally, select the second controller (if you chose this configuration in Step 4) and click Continue.

8. On the Select Receiver(s) page, select receivers from the list and click Review Setup.

FORT Manager displays the sender(s) and receiver(s) in the configuration and displays the following message to alert you if settings are incomplete:

Go to the next procedure to configure settings.

To Configure Settings

1. Click Settings to configure settings for the new configuration.

2. Click General to configure settings that apply to all devices in the configuration.

   In a configuration with two senders, FORT Manager lists a communication interface for each sender separately. The interface you select here determines which settings you are offered at the device level.

   Table 10. Communication Interfaces in a 2:1 SRC Pro and EPC Configuration

   Sender Pair	Sender	Available Interfaces
   SRC Pro and EPC	SRC Pro sender	Long Range Bluetooth
   SRC Pro and EPC	EPC sender	Long Range Bluetooth, Ethernet
   WES Pro and EPC	WES Pro sender	Long Range Bluetooth
   WES Pro and EPC	EPC sender	Long Range Bluetooth (default); Ethernet if the EPC is model 1003; Ethernet and Wi-Fi if the EPC model is 1000, 1001, or 1002.

   The interface you select for the EPC sender determines which settings you are offered at the device level. For more information on the SRC Pro pairing, see Settings in a 2:1 LRBLE Configuration. For more information on the WES Pro pairing, see Settings in a WES Pro and EPC Configuration.

   Note:

   For all configurations, you must specify a safety timeout, which specifies the maximum amount of time that the sender and receivers are not communicating before a fault occurs to initiate the safe state. Before putting your configuration into production, you should test various timeouts to find the optimal setting. For more information, see Wireless Communication Loss.

   Also set on the General tab:

   • Output to Control — Output 1 or Output 2 of the receiver. Both senders act on the output you select; you cannot control both. This setting cannot be changed after the configuration is created. For more information, see Choosing Which Output the Senders Control.

   • CAN Mode — Disabled, J1939, or CANopen. Which protocols are offered depends on the receiver: a configuration with an EPC receiver supports J1939 and CANopen, and a configuration with an NSC Pro receiver supports J1939 only. For more information, see Data Interfaces (NSC Pro).
   • Safety Timeout — the maximum time the senders and receiver are not communicating before a fault occurs and the safe state is initiated.
   Note:

   Before putting your configuration into production, test various timeouts to find the optimal setting. With two independent senders, confirm the timeout behaves correctly for each of them. For more information, see Wireless Communication Loss.

3. Click Save to save the general settings.

4. Click Devices and select a device from the drop-down list to configure settings specific to each device.

   FORT Manager displays the Warning symbol ⚠ next to any device that requires you to configure settings.

5. Click Save when you’ve completed configuration of all devices.

Once you’ve built a configuration, you must load it onto each device in the configuration for it to take effect (see Loading a Configuration onto Your Devices ).

The following receiver(s) from the configuration have been removed: [Receiver IDs]. These receiver(s) will continue to listen to the transmitter(s) in the configuration. To prevent unsafe conditions, perform ANY of the following actions on the removed receiver(s):

- Remove the receiver(s) from the machine or disconnect from power
- Apply a blank configuration to the receiver(s)
- Add the receiver(s) to a new configuration and reconfigure them