ODVA Enters into Agreements with FDT and Fieldcomm Group

ODVA announced that it has entered into separate agreements to help further integrate FDT and FDI technologies into EtherNet/IP.  Additional device description work on the next generation xDS for CIP devices also continues to move forward. 

Joint ODVA and FDT Group activities are underway to develop an FDT communications annex to support the ODVA Common Industrial Protocol (“CIP”) on the new FDT 3.0/FITS (“FITS”) platform.  The FDT Group has agreed to form an annex project group to develop a communications annex for FITS to support CIP-based networks, such as EtherNet/IP.  FITS extends the client server / architecture concept that was available in FDT2 to now enable full access via the edge, the cloud, the Web and OPC UA.  FITS is platform independent through the use of an open .NET Core as well as HTML 5 and JavaScript.

Enhancing the FDI Package Integrated Development Environment

Separately, members of ODVA and the Fieldcomm Group (FCG) are working together to enhance the FDI Package Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and FDI Host Components to support EtherNet/IP.  The goal is to allow EtherNet/IP to work more efficiently and seamlessly with FDI technology for the benefit of implementers.  The FDI Device Package IDE helps to make writing, running and testing FDI Device Packages easier and more efficient by providing the tools for industrial communication devices across multiple communication protocols in one application.

With easier creation of FDI Device Packages for vendors, more end users will see improvement in configuration, commissioning, diagnosis, and calibration as more EtherNet/IP devices support FDI. Control systems, configurators, and asset management software that supports FDI will be able to leverage EtherNet/IP devices with FDI Device Packages.  The inclusion of FDI Device Packages helps to improve the interoperability and lower the commissioning burden on end users for EtherNet/IP devices.

xDS Enhancements

ODVA is also engaged in another device configuration enhancement effort via a Special Interest Group (SIG) that is making progress on a new specification for the next generation of digitized descriptions for EtherNet/IP device data, known as xDS.  xDS will allow for workflow-driven device description files for device integration, such as network and security configuration and digitized business models, such as digital twins and cloud-based analytics.  In addition to the specification efforts, ODVA is working on tools to help simplify development of xDS device description files and their consumption by device integration tools, as well as conformance tests for xDS files.

The xDS device description for CIP devices will ultimately serve as a replacement for EDS files. xDS will help to enable the use of a wider array of tools and systems for both the process and discrete industries using established technologies. The information from the xDS customized device information file can be exposed to both FITS and FDI Device Packages. The work on xDS, along with the activities outlined with the FDT Group and FCG, helps to ensure ODVA is in better alignment with the next generation of value-added user interface, business logic, and device information technologies. ODVA’s partnership with FDT and FCG will help to ensure that both vendors and end users have solutions and options to better meet their needs.