EDD and Unified Architecture open data exchange specifications to benefit suppliers and users
AUSTIN, Texas, February 15, 2005 ‹ The Fieldbus Foundation today announced that the OPC Foundation (OPCF) has joined the international cooperative team of the three leading fieldbus organizations, the Fieldbus Foundation (FF), HART Communication Foundation (HCF) and PROFIBUS Nutzerorganisation e.V. (PNO), to extend the reach of Electronic Device Descriptions (EDDs) into OPCF¹s Unified Architecture.In 2003, FF, HCF and PNO formed a cooperative joint working group to extend the capabilities of Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL). An underlying technology in millions of installed field instruments, EDDL is a text-based language for describing the digital communication characteristics of intelligent control devices.
Device suppliers use EDDs to provide information on parameters and other data in a device.The joint working group developed extensions enabling robust organization and graphical visualization of device data, and providing support for persistent data storage, while maintaining operating system (OS) and platform independence.
The extensions will be integrated within the respective control network technologies and added to the IEC 61804-2 standard upon completion.Following its successful Phase 1 collaboration, the joint working group has begun efforts to further extend the open and interoperable EDD standard for delivery of extensive device, control configuration and diagnostic data to the OPCF Unified Architecture.According to ARC Advisory Group Analyst Larry O¹Brien, the automation community has long speculated on the role that OPC would play in the context of FOUNDATION fieldbus. ³The inclusion of EDD in the OPC framework is a smart move that will enhance interoperability significantly at the system and enterprise level in a truly open fashion that is independent of any operating system architecture,² said O¹Brien. ³EDD also provides OPC with a technology that is an accepted part of the IEC fieldbus standard and is already embedded in millions of FOUNDATION fieldbus, HART, and Profibus devices and systems that are installed in the field and running today.²Fieldbus Foundation President and CEO Richard Timoney said, ³Phase 2 of this agreement will continue to enhance the delivery of critical data from the device, and provide a standard and consistent structure for data transport within the OPCF Unified Architecture.
The overall effect will be a vastly simplified approach for users to access and distribute performance measurements and process data such as alarms. Users will also take advantage of increased system interoperability and cost-effective control system integration.²According to Tom Burke, OPCF president, users will benefit most from the interoperability of the OPCF Unified Architecture. ³This is the beauty of working with standards like OPC and EDDL.
Users can take advantage of open systems, but be assured of connectivity and interoperability among these systems,² said Burke. ³Without this standards-based approach, the industry would have to create a community of software developers to support all the different systems, each with a unique set of software drivers and the associated revision management issues that are part and parcel of operating system changes.²
About the Fieldbus Foundation
The Fieldbus Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation consisting of over 350 leading process and manufacturing automation companies worldwide whose major purpose is to provide an open and neutral environment for the development of a single, international, interoperable fieldbus. In this environment, end users, manufacturers, universities and research organizations are working together to develop the technology, provide development tools, support and training, coordinate field trials and demonstrations, and enable product interoperability. Visit their web site at www.fieldbus.org .
About OPC Foundation
The OPC Foundation is dedicated to ensuring interoperability in automation by creating and maintaining open specifications that standardize the communication of acquired process data, alarm and event records, historical data, and batch data to multi-vendor enterprise systems and between production devices. Production devices include sensors, instruments, programmable logic controllers, remote terminal units, distributed control systems, human-machine interfaces, historians, trending subsystems, alarm subsystems, and more as used in the process industry, manufacturing, and in acquiring and transporting oil, gas, and minerals. The OPC Foundation has been able to work more quickly than many other standards groups because OPC Foundation is building on existing, computer industry standards.
For more information about the OPC Foundation, visit www.opcfoundation.org .
About HART Communication Foundation
The HART Communication Foundation, an independent not-for-profit organization, is the owner and standards setting body for the HART Protocol, the world¹s leading communication technology for smart process instruments with more than 12 million devices installed worldwide. Established in 1993, the Foundation provides worldwide support for application of the HART Protocol and ensures that the technology is openly available for the benefit of the industry. The Foundation is supported by the world¹s leading process automation suppliers and has offices in Austin, Texas, and Basel, Switzerland.
For more information, go to www.hartcomm.org .
About PROFIBUS Nutzerorganisation e.V. The PROFIBUS Nutzerorganisation e.V. (PNO), founded 1989 in Germany as a non-profit organization, represents PROFIBUS in Germany and offers local support to users and vendors in Germany and Austria.
With more than 250 member companies the PROFIBUS Nutzerorganisation e.V. is the largest regional organization of PROFIBUS.
Visit www.profibus.com for more information.
