DLMS/COSEM (IEC 62056) Protocol Chips for Smart Metering
The DLMS/COSEM (Device Language Message Specification/Companion Specification for Energy Metering) suite, standardized as IEC 62056, is the globally recognized protocol for secure and interoperable data exchange in smart metering. This standard is fundamental to Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and is employed across electricity, gas, water, and heat applications worldwide.
DLMS/COSEM defines an object-oriented data model (COSEM objects) where every meter function and piece of data (like consumption, load profile, or tariff information) is represented by a standardized OBIS code. This complex structure ensures semantic interoperability, allowing utility Head-End Systems to communicate seamlessly with meters from different manufacturers. Our integrated circuits and modules are specifically designed to manage this intricate protocol.
Hardware Acceleration for DLMS Protocol Implementation
Implementing the full DLMS/COSEM stack is one of the most resource-intensive and time-consuming tasks in smart meter or gateway development. It requires deep expertise in handling the HDLC link layer, security (e.g., Security Suite 1 authentication and encryption), and the COSEM application layer logic.
INACKS integrated circuits and modules, such as the IS62056 chip, are dedicated DLMS/COSEM protocol chips that solve this problem entirely. They handle the complete stack in hardware, meaning INACKS integrated circuits and modules help a lot to develop products with this category because it avoids the firmware engineer to have to implement by itself the protocol. Your main host microcontroller simply sends high-level commands via a standard I2C or UART interface, and the module handles all the complex protocol framing, parsing, and security mechanisms. This results in less costs for specialized firmware development and ensures the final product can be developed and certified much sooner.
Key Problems Solved by INACKS DLMS Chips:
Complexity: Abstracting the object-oriented COSEM model into simple register reads/writes.
Security: Managing sophisticated DLMS Security Suite authentication and encryption.
Cost & Time: Eliminating months of protocol stack development, integration, and certification testing.
Interoperability: Guaranteeing worldwide compatibility with all DLMS-compliant meters and systems.