As shown on this slide, there is a need for low-latency communications between different units in an industrial automation system, starting with the programmable logic controllers. There are sensors on the robotic floor runner assembly line. There are human machine interfaces scattered throughout the factory floor, and there is motor control. The items being controlled can be robots, or they could be conveyor belts. There are specific requirements at each of the four corners of the image on this slide, and the sensors that are required are high precision ADCs. For the programmable logical controller large amounts of GPIOs are necessary. The human machine interface typically requires a general purpose processor that can communicate with a touch panel or a keyboard, for example, or something with a USB interface. TI's C2X is at the heart of moter control. In the motor control space there is a requirement for precise PWM timing, multiple high density PWMs to drive multiple motors at the same time, and being able to do that in fixed or floating point for high resolution systems. There is also the need to be able communicate between these devices. These communications could be done over a long distance, requiring topologies such as CAN or even power line communication. Ethernet has been used in industrial systems, but the present Ethernet is not considered a low latency. It is non-deterministic, and reaction time is generally above 100 mS. In these types of applications the requirement is for very low latency between each end unit. For example, the conveyor belt cannot be running faster than the robotic arms are able to pick things up, place them, or move them around. IEEE1588, is one of the new Ethernet connectivity standards that TI is working on implementing within these devices.