Wind River, IXXAT partner on automation development solution

Alameda, CA; Weingarten, Germany— Wind River Systems Inc. IXXAT Automation GmbH s automation. Wind River provides software and services for creating connected devices, while IXXAT provides of CAN and CANopen technology.

The two firms state their partnership will help users implement the benefits of the CANopen protocol, including its support for direct, peer-to-peer data exchange between nodes in an organized and real-time manner. The new development solution integrates IXXAT’s CANopen software with Wind River’s Tornado for Industrial Automation application platform, enabling customers to develop and deploy industrial equipment capable of communicating via the CANopen protocol. The CANopen protocol enables interoperability of different devices and high-speed, real-time data exchange, making it a preferred means of communication for industrial automation equipment.

“As manufacturing migrates to a collaborative production environment, it will be critical to have real-time connectivity from the device bus level to control systems, production management applications, and enterprise tiers,’ says Dick Slansky, senior analyst for ARC Advisory Group (Dedham, MA). “Not only will information need to be exchanged peer to peer, but vertically from device levels to server level applications, such as asset management and machine condition monitoring applications. The integration of Wind River’s Tornado for Industrial Automation application platform with IXXAT’s CANopen technology directly addresses these real-time connectivity issues, and provides interoperability at the device tier with high-speed, real-time information exchange.”

Network management functions specified in CANopen simplify project design, implementation and diagnosis by providing standard mechanisms for network start-up and error management. High communication performance can be achieved at relatively low baud rates, which reduces electromagnetic interference and minimizes cable costs. Specific examples of industrial applications well suited to benefit from Tornado for Industrial Automation and the CANopen solution include decentralized control systems, distributed input/output and networked sensor/actuator systems.

“Our industrial customers need seamless support for CANopen. Partnering with an industry leader like IXXAT Automation enables Wind River to deliver on this requirement with best-in-class software, development tools and connectivity options,’ says Marc Serughetti, director of marketing for Wind River’s Automotive and Industrial business unit. ‘Tornado for Industrial Automation provides the most comprehensive application platform available for manufacturers of industrial automation equipment, enabling them to focus on their application-specific value rather than spend time trying to integrate the complex enabling technologies.’

Tornado for Industrial Automation is an integrated and scalable application-specific platform for the development of reliable, secure, connected and managed industrial automation devices. It includes Wind River’s Tornado integrated development environment, VxWorks real-time operating system, application enablers, such as Ethernet drivers, CAN drivers, TCP/IP and VxDCOM, and industrial automation specific connectivity protocols, such as DeviceNet, OPC, and EthernetIP. Tornado for Industrial Automation shifts the focus of embedded industrial automation developers from the integration of enabling technologies to the development of the application itself.

CANopen is a CAN-based higher layer protocol originally developed for industrial control systems. CANopen provides several specifications for different device profiles as well as frameworks for specific applications but also allows the user to define own customized device profiles. The flexible application layer and many optional features are

Control Engineering Daily News DeskJim Montague, news editorjmontague@reedbusiness.com

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