The Technology: IO-Link Wireless

To understand CoreTigo’s products, it is necessary to understand the underlying technology: IO-Link Wireless. Traditional wireless technologies like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are often inadequate for industrial control applications because they lack the required reliability, deterministic timing, and immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI) found in factory environments.

IO-Link Wireless is an extension of the established wired IO-Link standard. CoreTigo co-authored this standard alongside other industry leaders within the IO-Link Consortium. Key characteristics of this technology include: * Low Latency: 5-millisecond latency for up to 40 wireless devices per master. * High Reliability: Packet error rate (PER) of 10^-9, which is comparable to cable-bound systems. * Coexistence: Built-in frequency-hopping mechanisms that allow it to operate seamlessly alongside Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other industrial wireless networks without interference. * Determinism: Precise synchronization and cycle times suitable for real-time monitoring and control.

Product Portfolio

CoreTigo offers an end-to-end hardware and software ecosystem that converts standard wired factory sensors and actuators into wireless nodes, aggregates their data, and integrates it into higher-level industrial networks (PLC, SCADA, Cloud).

1. Hardware Infrastructure

• TigoMaster 2TX: An industrial-grade IO-Link Wireless Master. It supports two wireless tracks simultaneously, allowing connection to up to 16 IO-Link Wireless devices (sensors, actuators, or hubs). It connects to the factory's wired network via industrial Ethernet protocols such as PROFINET, EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, or OPC UA.
• TigoBridge: A plug-and-play transmitter that attaches to any standard wired IO-Link or analog sensor/actuator, converting it into an IO-Link Wireless device. It is available in various IP-rated enclosures (e.g., IP67) to withstand harsh industrial environments.
• TigoHub: A multi-port wireless I/O hub designed to connect multiple digital or analog sensors to a single wireless node, optimizing hardware costs on dense machine modules.

2. Embedded and OEM Solutions

For machine components and sensor manufacturers looking to integrate wireless capabilities directly into their products, CoreTigo provides embedded modules: * TigoAir: A compact, embedded system-on-module (SoM) designed for direct integration into sensors, actuators, and pneumatic valves. * TigoMaster SOM: An embedded master module that allows PLC and industrial PC manufacturers to build IO-Link Wireless master capabilities directly into their control hardware.

3. Software and Management Tools

• TigoEngine: A comprehensive engineering and configuration software tool. It allows system integrators to set up, monitor, diagnose, and optimize the IO-Link Wireless network. It features real-time RF analysis to ensure optimal antenna placement and signal strength.
• TigoInsight: An industrial IoT software application that provides data visualization, predictive maintenance alerts, and analytics by gathering high-frequency data from the wireless nodes and pushing it to local servers or cloud platforms (such as AWS or Microsoft Azure).

Key Industrial Applications

CoreTigo’s products address specific pain points where traditional cabling limits machine design, increases maintenance costs, or prevents data collection.

1. Rotary Tables and Carousels

In packaging, bottling, and assembly lines, rotary tables rotate continuously to perform tasks (e.g., filling, capping, labeling). Traditional systems use mechanical slip rings to pass power and data to sensors on the rotating platform. Slip rings are prone to wear, require frequent maintenance, and limit data bandwidth. * CoreTigo Solution: Standard power is supplied inductively or via simple slip rings, while all control and sensor data are transmitted wirelessly via TigoBridges to a TigoMaster. This eliminates data slip rings, reduces downtime, and allows high-speed bidirectional data flow.

2. Linear Transport Systems and Smart Tracks

Modern smart conveyors (such as Beckhoff XTS, B&R ACOPOStrak, or Rockwell iTRAK) use independent magnetic shuttles to move products rapidly along a track. Cabling these moving shuttles is impossible. * CoreTigo Solution: Integrating TigoAir modules or TigoBridges directly onto the moving shuttles allows real-time control of onboard actuators (such as grippers or vacuum pumps) and continuous reading of onboard sensors while the shuttles are in high-speed motion.

3. Robotic End-Effectors

Robotic arms require complex cable routing (dress packs) to power and communicate with grippers and sensors at the end-of-arm tooling. Continuous bending leads to cable fatigue, wear, and eventual breakage, causing unscheduled downtime. * CoreTigo Solution: By mounting a TigoBridge on the robotic arm's tool flange, the need for data cables along the robot joints is eliminated. This increases the robot's range of motion, simplifies programming, and prevents cable-related failures.

4. Condition Monitoring and Predictive Maintenance

Retrofitting existing machinery with vibration, temperature, and acoustic sensors is often cost-prohibitive due to the expense of routing miles of data cables through established factories. * CoreTigo Solution: Battery-powered or line-powered sensors equipped with TigoBridges can be quickly deployed across a facility. They transmit critical health metrics wirelessly to a TigoMaster, enabling predictive maintenance programs without interrupting production for cable installation.

Market Positioning and Ecosystem

CoreTigo operates within the highly competitive Industrial Automation and Industry 4.0 market. Rather than competing directly with established automation giants, CoreTigo has positioned itself as an enabling technology partner.

The company has secured strategic investments and partnerships with major industry players, including: * Rockwell Automation: Integration of CoreTigo's wireless technology into Rockwell's smart track and control architectures. * Intel Capital: Early and ongoing investment, highlighting CoreTigo's alignment with edge computing and advanced silicon-level wireless technologies. * Amazon Web Services (AWS): Collaborations to streamline the flow of OT (Operational Technology) data from the physical factory floor directly to IT (Information Technology) cloud databases for advanced analytics.

CoreTigo's business model relies on a combination of hardware sales (Masters, Bridges, Hubs), software licensing (TigoEngine, TigoInsight), and OEM royalties/license fees from component manufacturers who embed CoreTigo's designs into their proprietary products.

Conclusion

CoreTigo has successfully addressed one of the final frontiers of industrial automation: the elimination of operational cables in motion-centric, harsh, and highly dynamic factory environments. By leveraging the standardized IO-Link Wireless protocol and backing it with robust hardware and software, the company provides a scalable path for factories to transition from rigid, legacy layouts to modular, software-defined, and fully connected production systems.