Communication

Your runtime platform is capable of communicating with external devices using a number of different protocols and hardware connections. For each configuration, Matrox Design Assistant has a series of steps that control the information flow. See the communication methods and steps from the table below for more information.

Communication method	Steps	Description
I/O	IOReader step, IOWriter step	The IO steps allow you to send a signal to or receive a signal from an external hardware device, respectively, by using user-defined pins on your runtime platform's input and output connector. Platforms that have a Matrox Advanced I/O Engine have additional I/O capabilities.
Modbus	ModbusReader step, ModbusWriter step	The Modbus steps allow you to communicate information, using the Modbus communication protocol, between your runtime platform and other Modbus devices, such as a programmable logic controller, sensor, or robot controller.
EtherNet/IP	EthernetIPReader step, EthernetIPWriter step	The EtherNet/IP steps allow you to transmit data between assemblies located on your runtime platform and another device (scanner) using the EtherNet/IP protocol. A scanner is typically a programmable logic controller (PLC). The Quick Comm feature provides a predefined event-driven handshake protocol.
PROFINET	ProfinetReader step, ProfinetWriter step	The PROFINET steps allow you to transmit data between your runtime platform and a controller using the PROFINET protocol. The Quick Comm feature provides a predefined event-driven handshake protocol. To use the PROFINET industrial communication protocol, you must be using a Matrox runtime platform (for example, Matrox Iris GTR or Matrox 4Sight GPm) or your runtime platform must have a hardware component with a Matrox PROFINET Engine (for example, Matrox Indio).
Network	NetworkConnection step, NetworkReader step, NetworkWriter step	The Network steps allow you to establish, validate, and terminate a connection with, as well as send data to and receive data from, another network client (such as a computer or network-aware device) on your network. There are 2 available networking protocols: UDP (User Datagram Protocol) and TCP (Transfer Control Protocol).
Serial port	SerialPortSetup step, SerialPortReader step, SerialPortWriter step	The Serial Port steps allow your runtime platform to exchange information with external devices, such as motion or light controllers, that are connected via a serial port (if available on your runtime platform).
Robot	RobotWriter step, RobotWait step, RobotParameters step	The Robot steps allow your runtime platform to communicate with connected robot controllers, typically to send position data to the robot controller.