Smar Adopts New OPC Standard

Once again, Smar takes a leadership role in the process control industry. Smar was the first in Brazil and one of twelve worldwide to submit plans to adopt the new OPC UA – OLE for Process Control Unified Architecture. This standard was designed by the OPC Foundation, the American institution responsible for specification standards governing the transfer of data between industrial equipment and the software systems that process the information.

Founded in 1996, the OPC Foundation is now a recognizable organization with more than 300 members worldwide. In 2004, a task force was established to develop the UA standard. “Smar has been dealing with the definition of this standard for two years”, explains Ronaldo Tomazeli Duarte, Smar Development Engineer. “Its work contributed to defining and implementing tests with the initial prototypes, which confirms the company’s focus in developing state-of-the-art technologies”, he added. Smar presented its paper at the ARC Advisory Group forum held in late June in Boston, Massachusetts, with a detailed strategy for the company projects to adopt the new technology.

The OPC UA Standard aims to integrate all existing OPCs by supplying informational data, alarms and historical data. As it is entirely based on open technologies, products may be operated in both large computer systems as well as in field equipment. The OPC UA promotes simplified communication automation and management systems and further supports the advancement for complete visualization of the process system in the industry.