Fieldbus Foundation announces milestones of WCT efforts.
Press Release Summary:
The Fieldbus Foundation announced that Wireless Cooperation Team (WCT) achieved milestones toward developing an interface specification and compliance guidelines for integrating universal wireless solution into HART(TM), FOUNDATION(TM) fieldbus, PROFIBUS, and PROFINET networks. The effort was sponsored by Fieldbus Foundation, HART Communication Foundation, and Profibus Nutzerorganisation e.V., which have collaborated on EDDL technology since 2003 and formed WCT in September 2007.
Original Press Release:
Wireless Cooperation Team Marks Progress Towards Common Wireless Interface Supporting Leading Communication
Fieldbus Foundation, HART Communication Foundation, and Profibus Nutzeroganisation converge on uniform interface to wireless technology
Austin, Texas - February 2, 2009 - The Fieldbus Foundation today announced that the Wireless Cooperation Team (WCT), one year after its formation, has achieved a number of milestones toward the development of an interface specification and compliance guidelines to integrate a universally accepted wireless solution into the HART(TM), FOUNDATION(TM) fieldbus, PROFIBUS and PROFINET communications networks. The common interface is intended to make it easier for automation end-users to take advantage of evolving wireless technologies.
The collaborative effort of the WCT is sponsored by the Fieldbus Foundation, HART Communication Foundation, and Profibus Nutzerorganisation e.V. (PNO), to facilitate the acceptance of wireless technology in the manufacturing and process industries worldwide. These organizations are represented by team members from leading industry suppliers, including Emerson Process Management, Honeywell, Siemens, ABB, Endress+Hauser, Pepperl+Fuchs and Festo.
"The Project Team has made good progress this year towards the ultimate goal of a specification for a common interface to a wireless gateway with the output supporting HART, FOUNDATION fieldbus, PROFIBUS and PROFINET communications technologies," said Martin Zielinski, chairman of the WCT Project Steering Committee. "We are on track to validate a new specification and compliance guidelines in 2009."
Among the milestones achieved in 2008 were establishment of requirements and architecture for FOUNDATION fieldbus, PROFIBUS and PROFINET.
The three sponsoring organizations have been collaborating on Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) technology since 2003, forming the WCT in September 2007.
About the Fieldbus Foundation(TM)
The Fieldbus Foundation is a global not-for-profit corporation consisting of leading process end users and automation companies. Within the Fieldbus Foundation, end users, manufacturers, universities and research organizations work together to develop an automation infrastructure that provides process integrity, business intelligence and open scalable integration in a managed environment. For more information, visit their web site at www.fieldbus.org.
About the HART Communication Foundation
The HART Communication Foundation is an international, not-for-profit, membership organization supported by more than 200 companies worldwide. Founded in 1993, the Foundation is the technology owner and central authority on the HART Protocol and provides global support for more than 24 million devices installed worldwide. The Foundation manages and controls the HART standards including new technology developments and enhancements that benefit and support the needs of the industry. Visit their website at www.hartcomm.org.
About the Profibus Nutzerorganisation e.V.
The Profibus Nutzerorganisation e.V. (PNO) was founded in 1989 as a non-profit organization. The PNO is owner of the PROFIBUS and PROFINET technology and responsible for further development. With 25 regional organizations all over the world, 1400 member companies and about 2500 different products, PROFIBUS & PROFINET International is currently the world's largest interest group for industrial communication covering all key aspects of industrial automation. More than 28 million PROFIBUS products are currently installed worldwide. Visit their website at www.profibus.com.
