The University of Kelaniya made yet another successful stride in research commercialization by signing a technology licensing agreement with Infosoft Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd on Thursday, March 09, 2023, at the Senate room of the University of Kelaniya.

A novel patented technology on Addressable Data Communication System for Industry Automation and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Based on Controller Area Network (CAN) Protocol, invented by the research team led by the Senior Professor. S. R. D. Kalingamudali, Professor. L. B. D. R. P. Wijesundara, Professor. Aruna Ranaweera, Professor. Charith Jayathilaka, Dr. Jehan Seneviratne, Dr. Kasun Piyumal of the Department of Physics & Electronics, Faculty of Science was transferred to Infosoft Lanka Pvt Ltd to commence the implementation.

The technology license agreement was signed by the Chief Executive Officer of Infosoft Lanka Private Limited, Mr. Mahendra Dissanayake, and the Chief Operating Officer of Infosoft Lanka Private Limited Mr. Sathya Ganepola. And the Senior Professor. Nilanthi De Silva, Vice-chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, Mr. K. K. K. Dharmathilaka, the registrar of the University of Kelaniya signed on behalf of the University of Kelaniya.

The momentous signing ceremony was dignified with the presence of the representatives from Infosoft Lanka Private Limited, Ms. Merari Jeevantha, Project Manager, and the Senior Professor S. R. D. Kalingamudali, Dean, Faculty of Science and the Lead supervisor of the Research, Innovation, and commercialization grant, AHEAD Project, the Head of the Department, Department of Physics & Electronics, Professor. L. B. D. R. P. Wijesundera, the Principal Investigator and the coordinator of the Research, innovation, and commercialization grant, AHEAD Project, and the coordinator of the Electronics Design and Innovation Center, Professor. Aruna Ranaweera, the deputy coordinator of the Research, innovation, and commercialization grant, AHEAD Project, Professor. Charith Jayathilaka, Supervisors of the research team, Dr. Jehan Seneviratna, Dr. Kasun Piyumal, the Director, the University Business Linkage Cell, Dr. Pradeep Samarasekere, the Director, Operational Technical Secretariat, Dr. Amila Munasinghe, the research team members, Mr. Tharindu Niroshan Gurusinghe, Mr. Pubudu Sanjuka Jayasekara, Ms. Hiruni Eranga Wijesooriya, Mr. Ishara Udayantha Rajapaksha and the Manager, University Business Linkage Cell, Ms. Chamodhi Prabodhya.

The commercialized technology is developed to address the technical problems identified in the data communication in existing wired industry automation and IIoT systems which can only send responses to the requested command received from master devices. Furthermore, the end devices or pieces of machinery in existing systems are incapable of manipulating the communication process or initiating the communication without having the request commands from master devices. This makes the systems heavily dependent on the master device, which causes reliability issues and real-time controlling and monitoring issues.

So, the research team members have come up with the technical Solutions for the identified problems. Industrial automation and IIoT systems should consist of reliable communication systems to avoid data collisions, detect failures in the transmitted data, and enable the automatic repetition of disturbed messages in the industrial environment. This invention has overcome the above-mentioned main technical problems in industrial automation and IIoT systems. By using this invented system, end devices or pieces of machinery can manipulate the communication process and initiate communication without depending on a master device. Due to those unique features, this invented system can overcome reliability issues and real-time controlling and monitoring issues.

Furthermore, this system can replace the existing IoT-based communication systems by eliminating distortions due to interference in the industrial environment and current technical problems such as discontinuation in communication during an Internet failure. Especially this system is highly customizable, and the connected devices can be controlled through the local or remote dashboard by assigning custom commands.