While in the northern hemisphere spring is waking up in nature and everything starts to grow and bloom, we are excited about the opportunity to finally meet again at fairs and events after 2 years of online-only collaboration. Hanover Fair is – although slightly later than usual – about to kick off at the end of May. For us at PI it is an important milestone in our promotion of the technology since we have been busy during COVID times in developing and updating our specifications. So, we are keen to show off the recent developments at our booth in Hall 9. Fortunately, our booth is bigger than ever at this fair, so there is plenty of space for PROFINET, PROFIBUS, IO-Link, omlox and more.
TSN
For PROFINET, the highlight is our updated Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) demo wall. We put much effort in not only working on the standardization of PROFINET over TSN, but also to prove the readiness of this technology with a live setup. First versions of the spec are released allowing us to put more focus on demonstrating the benefits and how to integrate it into products. For the first time, the TSN demo not only shows some prototype or evaluation boards, but real products and development kits from various vendors. This is the perfect opportunity to get yourself up to date and start your own TSN journey. And as usual, we keep an eye on the quality of PROFINET. This is why we started with the TSN certification tooling early and can demonstrate the updated test system at the fair.
omlox
For the first time at a PI booth, omlox will be displayed. The vendor-neutral indoor location technology is unparalleled worldwide. Based on Ultra-wideband, the technology allows users to incorporate location data of products, material, machines, etc. in their Industrie 4.0 application in a homogeneous way. Our experts will explain, what is new in version 2 and how you can kickstart your implementation.
IO-Link
Our recent node count of our technologies demonstrate clearly that IO-Link is well established worldwide in the sensor market. With a 30% increase in 2021 over 2020, IO-Link is used in evermore numerous applications. At the Hanover Fair you can convince yourself of the maturity of the technology and the broad range of products from many vendors. Recent developments were around IO-Link Safety and the certification of such products as well as a standardized integration into PROFINET networks.
PROFIBUS, PROFINET, and APL
So, what about PROFIBUS? This 30+ year old well-established technology – and our foundation – is still widely used in various markets. Mostly in process automation plants and areas with intrinsic safety needs. To allow our users the shift to PROFINET, three years ago a project was kicked off to develop a standardized Ethernet-based solution for hazardous areas and further process automation needs. This Advanced Physical Layer (APL) effort across industrial networking organizations came was released in time just a few month ago. So the Fair is a great opportunity to inform yourself about the first products and how you can make use of it in your PROFINET networks.
This is just a glimpse of what we are going to demonstrate in Hanover. For us it is exciting to finally exhibit again, and we are looking forward to meeting you in person. For us at PI, networking is not just a technology. It is what we live day by day and world-wide. Collaboration and standardization are more important than ever in these times.
Karsten Schneider