Google Cloud has partnered with industrial edge specialist Lynx Software Technologies to support Google Anthos Bare Metal on the LYNX MOSA.ic industrial edge platform. This will support containerised software services from the cloud such as Google Cloud Visual Inspection AI service, which provides video-based quality inspection, running at the edge in industrial and energy facilities.

The partnership enables easy deployment of real-time image capturing on devices such as cameras on manufacturing plant floors and inference models built by Google Cloud Visual Inspection AI. It also provides for a supervisory controller that connects to a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and translates insights into action.

The solution’s use of Google Anthos bare metal support means that an entire Kubernetes cluster can be run locally in as little as one hardware system at the edge, with Lynx enabled virtual air gapping providing isolation between the different parts of the system. Merging of operational technology (OT) and IT worlds – training AI and machine learning models in the cloud and deploying cloud-based workloads at the edge – has typically posed security challenges in mission-critical industrial environments.

Lynx ensures the three functions – image capture (camera), insight via inference engine (Google Anthos) and the action with a supervisory controller – are completely sandboxed with the option of secure one way (data diode) connections between them.

“As a provider of mission-critical edge, we’re thrilled to announce support for Google Anthos Bare Metal and Google Cloud Visual Inspection AI,” said Pavan Singh, Vice President of Product Management at Lynx. “With the new solution we’re jointly bringing to market, any containerised service can now be deployed to the mission critical edge without compromising security or performance. This partnership also marks an important step in our growing industrial ecosystem.”

The solution is run on an Advantech MIC770, however, the LYNX MOSA.ic solution is able to run on various Intel and ARM processors. This flexibility means that various types of solution can have local/on-prem management while fully leveraging the benefits of cloud solutions.