Automation expands in Asia; nanotechnology; wireless
Staff -- Control Engineering, 10/1/2006
Separate recent agreements expand automation in Asia, further the use of nanotechnology, and may make ZigBee easier to implement.
Yokogawa Electric Corp. and OSIsoft Inc. partnership is designed to serve industrial automation markets throughout much of Asia. Under the pact, Yokogawa will acquire full use of technology for real-time operational decision making and enterprise management, and OSIsoft will expand strategic access in one of the fastest growing automation markets. Yokogawa Information Systems Corp. has been an OSIsoft distributor since 1993. The partnership will enable Yokogawa to provide OSIsoft’s real-time performance management (RtPM) platform technology in its total enterprise technology solutions (ETS). Yokogawa plans to expand its business into the enterprise performance management area. The multi-year agreement has Yokogawa providing enhanced ETS to the industrial automation sector in Japan, China, Korea, and Taiwan. The company will also work with OSIsoft to enhance localization of RtPM platform products in its core Japanese market.
www.osisoft.com, www.yokogawa.com
FEI Co. and UK-based Malvern Instruments Ltd. have entered into a joint development and marketing program for advanced nanoparticle analysis using Malvern’s particle image analysis software on FEI’s line of Quanta scanning electron microscopes (SEMs). The result is a particle analysis system that extends current technologies for nanosized particles. The bundled product is expected to be released late this year. The software is already used on Malvern systems that encompass traditional optical microscopes. They provide rapid data on particle size and morphology, and distribution profiles for quality control and manufacturing applications. Current uses include rationalizing batch-to-batch variation of materials, identifying crystal polymorphisms, and identifying foreign bodies. Interested in the topic? Search on The Amazing World of Nanotechnology atop www.controleng.com.
Airbee Wireless, a developer of software for unwired voice and data networking applications, executed a license agreement with Zentrum Mikroelektronik Dresden AG [“ZMD,” developer of mixed-signal application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and application-specific standard products (ASSPs) for automotive, industrial, and medical applications] to provide ZigBee-compliant and ZigBee-based network protocol stacks (ZNS and ZNS Lite). When released, these products will help give integrators and OEMs deploying ZigBee wireless sensor networks access to the ZMD44102 radio at 900 MHz paired with TI MSP430-1612 microcontrollers. The venture will offer a ready-made platform for integrators and OEMs seeking turnkey 900 MHz ZigBee technologies requiring extended range and robust performance. The companies will integrate Airbee-ZigBee Network Software (ZNS) stack with ZMD’s ZMD44102 transceivers operating in the European 868.3 MHz and North American 902 MHz to 928 MHz license-free bands.
www.airbeewireless.com, www.zigbee.org, www.zmd.de
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