Highlights of the new EDDL technology was displayed for the first time during the ISA-Houston

Smar at Fieldbus Foundation EDDL Kiosk during the ISA Houston Expo

During the last ISA2006 Edition, the Fieldbus Foundation group of members and its contributors announced its support for an ISA committee creating a harmonized version of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61804-3 international standard on Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL). The ISA SP104 committee will republish the IEC standard as an American National Standard Institute (ANSI) standard.(*)

EDDL is a text-based language for describing the digital communication characteristics of intelligent devices and equipment parameters in an Operating System (OS) and Human Machine Interface (HMI)- neutral environment. EDDL enables a host system manufacturer to create a single engineering environment that eliminates the need for custom software drivers for each device type.

The ISA SP104 committee will create a national standard adopting the generic language specified by IEC 61804 to describe the properties of automation system components. The specified language is capable of describing device parameters and their dependencies, device functions, graphical representations, and interactions with control devices.

In 2003, the Fieldbus Foundation, HART Communication Foundation and PROFIBUS Nutzerorganisation e.V. formed a cooperative joint working group to extend the capabilities of Electronic Device Description (EDD) technology. The working group developed extensions enabling robust organization and graphical visualization of device data, and providing support for persistent data storage. The extensions were made available to all three organizations to integrate within their respective control network protocols.

EDDL enables end users to achieve unsurpassed levels of interoperability and device integration. It provides the freedom to choose “best-in-class” automation products from multiple suppliers, delivers the power to integrate devices to achieve optimum control strategies, and allows easy and efficient system upgrades. Smar International represented by its group of associate-senior R&D Engineers participated at the EDDL Kiosk – Fieldbus Foundation Booth in conjunction with other vendors, showing how the new technological enhancements added to the former DD will help endusers to achieve the best performance from a EDDLenabled device by using outstanding graphical interfaces, envisioned by the device manufacturer standpoint in conjunction with any Host manufacturer.

Smar Research NY Division was also present at the HART Foundation Booth displaying its high performance barriers and repeaters to support Fieldbus networks. Built for the demanding networks of today’s manufacturing plants, many of those products provide both Fieldbus networking resources and compliance with Intrinsic Safety standards, other protocols were also available at the site. ( * ) Font: www.foundation.org – news / press releases