Fieldbus Foundation: Wireless, remote I/O demos, Asia growth, scholarships

End-users in the U.S. and four other countries will demonstrate Foundation fieldbus wireless and remote I/O and wireless capabilities. Other news includes naming of advisory council members and scholarship recipients.

By Control Engineering Staff March 5, 2009
Fieldbus Foundation keynote speaker at the 2009 General Assembly is Hideaki Miura, senior executive officer, general manager, engineering division JGC Corp. He speaks about how operational intelligence benefits from adoption of fieldbus technology . Image courtesy of Fieldbus Foundation.

Yokohama, Japan – End-users such as Chevron and Shell Global Solutions, in United States, Netherlands, Brazil, Canada, and Japan, will demonstrate Foundation fieldbus wireless and remote I/O capabilities; more than 25 companies will be involved, including automation providers. In addition Fieldbus Foundation announced an Asia/Pacific advisory council, additional events in the region, and winners of the 2008-2009 James O. Gray Scholarship. Fieldbus Foundation made the announcements at its 2009 General Assembly here on March 4.
Wireless and remote I/O demonstrations (WIO)
The foundation’s WIO development project involves leading suppliers of plant automation equipment from around the world. The project is intended to develop use cases and requirements for Foundation fieldbus High Speed Ethernet (HSE) remote and wireless communications in monitoring and control that are

interoperable using function blocks and Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL)

. This encompasses solutions using Foundation fieldbus and wireless technologies developed in accordance with the ISA100 standard underway and work of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) .
Device interoperability and network configuration solutions, validation of technical specifications, and interoperability test and registration procedures are deliverables from the WIO project teams—an HSE remote I/O (RIO) team, HSE backhaul team and wireless sensor team—according to Dave Glanzer, Fieldbus Foundation director of technology development. Glanzer says, “WIO developments promise to advance the utilization of an open, interoperable fieldbus automation infrastructure incorporating both HSE and industrial wireless applications.”
WIO builds on prior efforts: wireless backhaul, standards development
In October 2008, the Fieldbus Foundation and ISA announced an agreement to facilitate the implementation of wireless backhaul transport networks. This technology initiative is based on shared interests in serving the needs of end users and suppliers of wireless systems in industrial automation, the foundation says.
At an ISA100 meeting in June 2008, ISA100 leaders established a new working group, ISA100.15—Wireless Backhaul Networks Working Group—to develop and maintain a standard to address one or more dedicated or shared wireless backhaul(s) to support technologies running multiple applications. The first of these backbones will be the Fieldbus Foundation’s HSE implementation.
Who’s involved in WIO, so far
Companies participating in the WIO development include: ABB, Aniotek, APAT, Apprion, Chevron, Emerson Process Management, Endress+Hauser, Festo, Flexworks Solutions, Hodson Consulting, Honeywell Process Solutions, MaCT, MTL, OMNEX Control Systems, Pepperl+Fuchs, Phoenix Contact, R. STAHL, RuggedCom, Sense-Comm Technology, Shell Global Solutions, Siemens, Smar, Softing, Turck, Westlock Controls, Yamatake, and Yokogawa.
Asia/Pacific advisors to Fieldbus Foundation
Fieldbus Foundation established an Asia/Pacific Executive Advisory Council (AP-EAC), and the council’s first meeting was March 3 in Yokohama, Japan. Attendees defined the formal EAC organization and elected the council’s inaugural officers. Fieldbus Foundation Asia/Pacific Steering Committee members also attended the meeting to kick-off the new Asia/Pacific management structure. AP-EAC is comprised of representatives of ABB, Emerson Process Management, Invensys, MTL, Pepperl+Fuchs, Rockwell Automation, Turck, R. STAHL, Yamatake and Yokogawa.
Rich Timoney, Fieldbus Foundation president and CEO, says, “The Asia/Pacific market is setting the worldwide pace for manufacturing growth and greenfield plant construction,” and the expansion will “better support users of Foundation-based control systems in a wide range of industrial process control applications.” Help will target process end users in East Asia, Southeast Asia, India, Australia, and New Zealand.
Events in Asia/Pacific
More than 20 events in 2009 promoting the adoption of Foundation fieldbus in the Asia/Pacific region will include Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
2008-2009 James O. Gray Scholarship recipients announced
Singapore Polytechnic, SAIT, and Lee College chose three student as the 2008-2009 recipients of the James O. Gray-Fieldbus Foundation Educational Scholarship. The program honors the memory of James (Jim) O. Gray, a long-time leader in the Fieldbus Foundation who passed away in 2002. It establishes a perpetual $250,000 endowment fund providing awards to eligible students studying industrial automation.
The 2008-2009 scholarship recipients are:
-Huo Quan Hui, Singapore Polytechnic, Singapore: Ho Quan Hui is pursuing a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Singapore Polytechnic.
-Lynden Lepage, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Lynden Lepage is seeking a degree in Industrial Instrumentation Engineering from SAIT.
-Bernadette Coates, Lee College, Baytown, Texas, USA: Bernadette Coates recently completed the coursework necessary to receive an Instrumentation Technician Certificate from Lee College.
Fieldbus Foundation provides more about the scholarship and recipients .
More about the Fieldbus Foundation meeting
Also on the 2009 General Assembly agenda: Hideaki Miura, senior executive officer, general manager, engineering division JGC Corp.; John Rezabek, ISP Corp.; Jasbir Singh, Essar Refinery Ltd.; Takuo Suzuki, Mitsubishi Chemical Engineering; Bindert Douma, Shell Global Solutions; and Fieldbus Foundation staff, covering wireless implementation, safety solutions, field device integration, EDDL, and field diagnostics.

– Edited by Mark T. Hoske , editor in chief
Control Engineering News Desk
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