OPC UA wherever you look. This was my first impression at Hannover Fair, which just closed its doors for 2017. With the rise of Industrie 4.0 and the IIoT, OPC UA came into focus for all industries and so came the products which support it. This is well-deserved of course. And then there is TSN – another attention-grabber for the fair visitors. But, not to be missed, was important news from PI...
"More attendees, more solutions, more international!" was the short-form report on Hannover Fair. See the numbers and have a visit to the PI Booth.
TSN (Time-sensitive Networking) is a promising new IEEE technology for Ethernet that combines the bandwidth of IT (information technology) networks with the latency of OT (operational technology) networks.
In process automation, rapid installation and easy operation of field devices are important user requirements – consistently across manufacturers. Therefore PI has developed a profile specification in the form of PA Profile 4.0 that is independent of the communication protocol.
At the PI press conference on the second day of Hannover Fair, PI Chairman Karsten Schneider presented news of PROFINET, PROFIBUS, and IO-Link.
The installed base of devices with 'PI interfaces' continues its very strong overall market position. Against the background of Industrie 4.0, this is a clear sign of the acceptance of PI technologies in this innovative domain.
Practical and high-quality certification tests for communication interfaces are among the key factors for acceptance of an open communication standard. PI has maintained a certification system for PROFIBUS and PROFINET products since the beginning.
With the release and publication of the IO-Link Safety specification by the IO-Link Community and the successful concept assessment by the TÜV SÜD, nothing else stands in the way of implementation in systems and devices.
