Within e-mobility’s rapid growth, new charging stations must meet a variety of technical requirements.
Reliability of both hardware and software, ease of implementation and customization, as well as compact size – granting high-performance systems with a small form factor – were some of the key challenges Abinsula faced when a client asked them to develop a proof of concept (POC) for a smart electric vehicle (EV) wall-mounted charger.
With a strong reputation for technical expertise and research-oriented approach, this Arduino Systems Integrator has made a significant mark in fields such as automotive, healthcare, IoT, and industry 4.0 since its founding in 2012. As one of Italy’s main players in embedded, IoT, web and mobile solutions, they tackled this brief starting with thorough market research.
Realizing the existing offerings could not deliver exceptional performance while maintaining a compact size, they turned to Arduino.
“In about one month, we were able to transform the idea into a full-fledged POC running a complete HMI and control software.”
– Paolo Doz, Abinsula co-founder and CTO
The open-source, high-performance Arduino Pro range provided the right combination of flexibility and reliability.
Portenta X8 offered unmatched performance in a compact form factor, making it ideal for their project. Implemented with Portenta Breakout, the solution allowed seamless customization using Yocto, significantly enhancing development efficiency. “The primary challenge was optimizing the resources of the microprocessor (i.MX8) while planning for future functionality expansions. We were able to offload some functionalities to the Portenta X8’s onboard real-time microcontroller, ensuring the system could support additional smart features as needed, such as remote communication via 4G/Wi-Fi®,” explains co-founder and CTO of Abinsula, Paolo Doz.
The development time was remarkably short, also thanks to Arduino’s prompt support: Abinsula transformed the initial concept into a complete POC – including a full HMI and control software – in just one month. This rapid development cycle was crucial to meet the demand for reduced time-to-market, which is a key competitive advantage in the e-mobility industry.
Abinsula built its solution with Arduino Pro to:
Access the unparalleled performance-to-size ratio of Portenta X8
Customize software down to the lowest layers, using standard development methods
Focus on application development thanks to ready-to-use Board Support Package (BSP) software
Rely on prompt and collaborative support from Arduino’s customer success team
The POC highly impressed the client, with a positive impact on Abinsula’s business and reputation for efficiency and innovation.
Encouraged by the success of this project, the company plans to expand the use of Arduino Pro products. They are currently evaluating the integration of Arduino Opta into their offerings, attracted by its potential for significant cost savings in Industry 4.0 projects.