Since the beginning of 2022, certification for the PROFIdrive and Encoder profile is mandatory. And so, the Profile Tester, a Windows-based tool with a graphical user interface, can be downloaded free of charge by all members to ease conformity testing to the specification.

The IO-Link Community came together in Frankfurt am Main, Germany for their annual Members' Assembly. A new Steering Committee was elected with participation by 18 active companies helping drive IO-Link success into the future.

Rapid advances in technology are now awaiting adoption by industry. But creating technology merely for technology’s sake serves the few rather than the many. Focusing instead on addressing use-cases has proven effective, but something more is needed for adoption to occur. And that is: ease-of-use.

The SmartFactoryOWL offers companies and research institutes the possibility to co-create technologies for future factories while providing a real lab for fulfilling the promise of Industry 4.0. To this end, a real-time locating system (RTLS) based on omlox has been installed.

Advanced digitalization is requiring that automation solutions – which previously functioned on a local scale – increasingly network the various different production plants at a site and across multiple sites, even beyond the boundaries of manufacturing companies. How can PI help?

Recent events at Hannover Messe 2022 revealed the latest on PROFINET over TSN and progress towards a common TSN test plan for all industrial protocols using the IEC/IEEE 60802 TSN profile for Industrial Automation.

1. PI (omlox), AIM (AutoID), and the OPC Foundation (OPC UA) will collaborate on a 'Global Positioning' Specification. 2. A demo using omlox and VDA 5050 is orchestrating AGV fleet management. 3. Finally, omlox is maximizing forklift efficiency in a separate demo.