Edge AI · MI-EAI-03
Offline Edge Gateway with Local Inference
An industrial SBC runs MQTT, Modbus polling, a local anomaly model and a LAN dashboard, syncing to cloud only when available.
Edge AI · MI-EAI-03
An industrial SBC in a DIN enclosure running an MQTT broker, Modbus polling, a local anomaly model and a LAN dashboard — alarms that keep working when the internet does not, syncing to the cloud when it returns.
- ₹23,500pilot BOM · hardware only
- 5 – 8 daysto a live pilot
- Advancedintegration level
- 3validated providers
Why cloud-only alarms fail when the link does
The problem
Plant networks are unreliable and some data cannot leave the site at all, yet the monitoring stack depends on a cloud that is unreachable exactly when the plant needs an alarm. When the link drops, the dashboard goes blank and the alerts stop.
- Cloud-dependent alarms fail during outages
- Some process data must stay on site
- Latency to the cloud is too high for fast alarms
- Every sensor vendor wants its own cloud
The solution
A Raspberry Pi 5-class industrial SBC in a DIN-rail enclosure runs Mosquitto (MQTT), Node-RED flows that poll Modbus devices and subscribe to LoRaWAN sensors, a lightweight anomaly model on the incoming data, and a dashboard served on the plant LAN. Alarms are raised locally; data is buffered and synced to the cloud when the link is available.
- Local MQTT broker, Modbus polling and LoRaWAN ingestion in one box
- Anomaly model and alarms run on the edge, with no internet
- Dashboard on the LAN for the control room and supervisors
- Store-and-forward sync to your cloud when connected
Top Certified Providers
Validated by TwoElectrons and ranked by validation score: verified credentials, completed jobs on the platform and client ratings.
- Sample Provider S — Bengaluru · On-prem LLM & RAG · ★ 4.9 · 12 jobs
- Sample Provider T — Hyderabad · TinyML & edge inference · ★ 4.7 · 9 jobs
- Sample Provider U — Pune · Secure AI infrastructure · ★ 4.6 · 7 jobs
Pilot BOM and cost
Reference hardware to run the pilot. Unit costs are indicative Indian market prices for the component class.
| Qty | Item | Unit cost | Line |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1× | Industrial SBC / edge gateway Raspberry Pi 5 class, 8 GB | ₹12,000 | ₹12,000 |
| 1× | DIN-rail enclosure and 24 V PSU | ₹4,500 | ₹4,500 |
| 1× | RS-485 / Modbus HAT | ₹2,500 | ₹2,500 |
| 1× | Industrial microSD / SSD | ₹4,500 | ₹4,500 |
| 1× | Edge software stack Node-RED, Mosquitto, local model | Free tier / open source | — |
| Pilot BOM total | ₹23,500 |
POC BOM cost only — hardware for a pilot. Installation, integration and provider services are quoted separately. Request for Quote
How an offline-capable edge gateway works
- Install. Mount the SBC, PSU and RS-485 HAT on the DIN rail.
- Connect. Point Modbus devices and the LoRaWAN gateway at the local broker.
- Model. Deploy an anomaly model on a key signal; set local alarm rules.
- Cut. Pull the internet cable; confirm alarms and dashboard still work.
Pilot architecture
Modbus devices + LoRaWAN sensors (PLC · meters · sensors) → Edge gateway (SBC) (MQTT · Node-RED · model) → LAN dashboard & alarms (control room) → Cloud (when available) (store-and-forward sync)
Everything inside the dotted boundary works with the internet unplugged; the cloud receives a buffered copy when the link is up.
Business case: alarm availability, latency, data residency
Ranges are typical figures reported for this class of solution; your pilot establishes the numbers for your plant.
- 100% alarm availability during outages (the edge does not depend on the link)
- ms local alarm latency (versus seconds via the cloud)
- One box for MQTT, Modbus, LoRaWAN and dashboard (vendor clouds optional)
- 5 – 8 days to a live pilot (one cell or line)
Who this is for: OT and automation engineers, Plants with unreliable connectivity, Sites with data-residency rules, Remote plants and pumping stations, Multi-vendor sensor estates, Anyone replacing a cloud-only monitoring stack.
Illustrative case study
Illustrative scenario · not a client reference
A remote cement-grinding unit with a flaky 4G link in Chhattisgarh (illustrative)
Set-up. Edge gateway in the MCC room polling the mill's Modbus energy meters and subscribing to LoRaWAN bearing-temperature sensors; alarms to a LAN dashboard and a control-room light; buffered sync to the group's cloud.
What happened. During a 14-hour link outage in week two the control room kept every alarm and trend; the cloud caught up automatically when the link returned. The unit then moved its vibration alarms to the edge as well.
- Pilot budget: ₹23,500 hardware
- Alarms lost in a 14 h outage: 0
- Sync after reconnect: automatic
FAQ
Is a Raspberry Pi reliable enough for the plant?
An industrial-grade SBC with an SSD, a proper DIN PSU and a fanless enclosure runs for years; the pilot specifies industrial variants where the environment demands it.
Which protocols does it speak?
Modbus RTU/TCP, MQTT, LoRaWAN via a gateway, OPC UA and REST through Node-RED nodes; others can be added.
Can our existing cloud platform still receive the data?
Yes — the edge forwards buffered data to your cloud over MQTT or HTTPS when the link is available.
What does the ₹23,500 cover?
SBC, enclosure, PSU, RS-485 HAT and storage with an open-source software stack. Flow design, model tuning and provider services are quoted after a Request for Quote.
