In an effort to quicken the deployment of Field Device Integration (FDI) technology, a dozen automation suppliers have partnered on a program that would standardize device integration for process industries across all host systems, devices and protocols.
The organization, to be entitled the FDI Cooperation, consists of major industry trade associations, such as the Fieldbus Foundation, FDT Group, HART Communications Foundation, OPC Foundation and PROFIBUS Nutzerorganisation, as well as control equipment suppliers ABB, Emerson Process Management, Endress+Hauser, Honeywell, Invensys, Siemens and Yokogawa.
With FDI, the definition files provided by instrument vendors are plug-ins to the field-device manager framework. This eliminates the need for manufacturers to rely on hundreds of independent diagnostic applications supplied by multiple vendors and the need for distributed-control-system (DCS) vendors to supply diagnostic applications for all available devices.
Control equipment suppliers believe the FDI technology will create a more user-friendly, hardware-independent choice for manufacturing operators.
