Organizations join forces to focus on common interfaces for Industrie 4.0 and IoT

The EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) and the OPC Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Hannover Messe 2015 to define common interfaces for Industrie 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT).

By EtherCAT Technology Group May 4, 2015

The EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) and the OPC Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Hannover Messe 2015 to define common interfaces for Industrie 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT). Martin Rostan, Executive Director of the EtherCAT Technology Group, and Thomas J. Burke, President and Executive Director of the OPC Foundation, represented their respective organizations during the signing.

Both the ETG and the OPC Foundation believe that their respective communication technologies complement one another. EtherCAT is a real-time capable Ethernet fieldbus for machine and plant controls, leveraging the EtherCAT Automation Protocol (EAP) for lean data exchange between masters. OPC UA as a platform designed for scalable communication with integrated security by design, enabling encrypted data transfer up to MES/ERP systems and into the cloud.

Industrie 4.0 and IoT demand seamless and continuous communication through all layers and levels within the digital factory, as well as externally through cloud-based services and other Internet technologies. The ETG and the OPC Foundation seek to achieve these requirements with the common definition of open interfaces between both of their technologies and have agreed to develop these interfaces in close cooperation.

Rostan said, "With this agreement, we create the prerequisites to integrate EtherCAT systems consistently into Industrie 4.0 and IoT architectures. Within the ETG Technical Committee, we decided in October 2014 that OPC UA is our choice for the connection with cloud systems and the IT world. Development thus far has proved this to be the correct choice, and we look forward to collaborating in the creation of mutually-beneficial definitions of the common interfaces,"

Burke said, "EtherCAT is one of the leading technologies on the field level and provides an ideal complement to our functionality. OPC UA is not a competitor of fieldbuses; it seeks to enable the consistent, safe, and scalable communication of such systems into the IT world. Thanks to the common development of interfaces between both our associations, we expect quick and practice-oriented results which, of course, we will all welcome."

EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG)

www.ethercat.com 

OPC Foundation

https://opcfoundation.org/

– Edited by CFE Media. See more Control Engineering industrial networking stories.


Author Bio: EtherCAT Technology Group