INDUSTRY STANDARD DEVICE TECHNOLOGY GAINING MOMENTUM WORLDWIDE
25 October 2005 - Fieldbus Foundation

Located in the Fieldbus Foundation's booth (#426), the EDDL demonstration shows how leading automation suppliers are implementing enhanced Electronic Device Description features in their host systems and field devices. ISA visitors will learn how the technology's backward compatibility enables true device and subsystem interoperability. Participants in the demonstration include Emerson Process Management, Endress+Hauser, Siemens and Smar.

EDDL is a text-based language describing the digital communication characteristics of intelligent devices and equipment parameters in an Operating System and User Interface neutral environment. EDDL enables a host system manufacturer to create a single engineering environment capable of supporting any device, from any supplier, using any communications protocol, without the need for custom software drivers for each device type.

The EDDL specifications of the Fieldbus Foundation, HART Communication Foundation and PROFIBUS Nutzerorganisation e.V. are unified in the International Electrotechnical Commission 61804-2 international standard. Enhancements to the IEC standard are the result of an unprecedented collaborative project among these organizations, as well as the OPC Foundation, with the support of their respective member companies.

According to Fieldbus Foundation President and CEO Richard Timoney, ISA EXPO 2005 attendees can view live EDDL functionality and see how the technology is gaining momentum throughout the automation supplier and end user communities.

'Since its introduction in 1994, EDDL has been the technology-of-choice for those seeking an open, interoperable digital control solution,' said Timoney. 'It is still the right choice for the industry today. EDDL provides the freedom to choose best-in-class automation products, delivers the power to integrate devices to achieve optimum control strategies, and enables easy and safe system upgrades. EDD files created for millions of different instruments are fully compatible without the need for upgrades, revisions, or patches of any kind.'

He added, 'EDDL's robust performance has been proven in mission-critical control applications, and is evident in millions of installed device nodes. No other intelligent device technology rivals its level of global market acceptance.'

The ISA EXPO 2005 EDDL display unit consists of an asset management system and a handheld communicator, each interacting with several pressure transmitters, a temperature transmitter, and a machinery health transmitter. The technology demonstration highlights improved displays incorporating images, graphs and charts enabling the diagnosis, calibration and configuration of complex devices.

With EDDL, device developers do not need to deal with the burden of designing and programming a graphic display system to run under a variety of platforms and environments, from large HMIs to the small handheld. Instead, they can utilize common graphic display capabilities provided by commands in the EDDL. Since many host systems today already implement EDDL-based graphic display systems, devices using the extended EDDL have a common look and feel with existing devices. This permits uniform integration, configuration, operation, and diagnostics/maintenance.

EDDL also provides operating system and platform independence, eliminating the need for special 'plug-in' executable code that is costly to develop and can jeopardize the host's control over the human interface and operating environment. In addition, extended EDDLs follow proven test and registration procedures, including the same strict revision control policies as today's EDDLs, thus eliminating problems in the field.

http://fieldbus.org/

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