Fieldbus Foundation announces site, topics for 2007 assembly

By Control Engineering Staff December 20, 2006

The Fieldbus Foundation’s 2007 General Assembly will be held in Houston, Texas, Feb. 22-23. Planned for the Houstonian Hotel, the annual event will be attended by technology suppliers, end-users and other industry participants from around the world, the organization says. Theme of this year’s meeting, ‘Changing the Playing Field,’ reflects the Fieldbus Foundation’s emphasis on providing a total control system technology infrastructure for industrial manufacturing. The event will address key topics such as distributed control; business intelligence; and open, scalable integration.

Fieldbus Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation. Membership includes more than 350 leading process and manufacturing automation companies worldwide whose major purpose is to provide an open and neutral environment for the development of a single, international, interoperable fieldbus, the group says. In this environment, end-users, manufacturers, universities and research organizations are working together to develop the technology, provide development tools, support and training, coordinate field trials and demonstrations, and enable product interoperability.

The event will commence on Thursday, Feb. 22, with an overview of current Fieldbus Foundation developments across the globe, including workshops geared for system end-users, engineers, and suppliers. End-user presentations describing fieldbus installations in a wide range of process industry applications will follow in the afternoon. An asset management keynote address will highlight the evening reception, and a silent auction will benefit the James O. Gray Fieldbus Foundation Scholarship Fund. Throughout the day, major control system and instrumentation suppliers will take part in a tabletop exhibition showcasing the latest Foundation products, solutions, and services. On Friday, Feb. 23, the Fieldbus Foundation will conduct its annual business meeting for members only.

For more information, visit the Fieldbus Foundation Website at www.fieldbus.org .

C.G. Masi , Control Engineering senior editor