Profibus commits to 'millennium fieldbus'

Citation

(1999), "Profibus commits to 'millennium fieldbus'", Assembly Automation, Vol. 19 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/aa.1999.03319dab.018

Profibus commits to 'millennium fieldbus'

Keywords Fieldbus

Profibus International, the umbrella organization representing Profibus User Groups in 23 countries, has responded positively to International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) decisions for completing the IEC 61158 international fieldbus Standard by the end of 1999. The Profibus community fully supports the decisions, made on 15 June at an IEC Committee of Action meeting by which a compromise solution allowing amendments to the current technical specification becomes possible.

Profibus International Chairman Klaus-Peter Lindner said:

We welcome the compromise of the Committee of Action to include the necessary supplements for profiles, on the basis of different protocols, to the existing specification. We realize that the participating companies and fieldbus organizations have given us the possibility to help bring the IEC 61158 standardization project to a successful conclusion. Profibus International supports this objective in the spirit of trust and co-operation sought by IEC and looks forward to working with SC65C to integrate the Profibus protocol into the IEC 61158 technical specification. We have just four months to do this -- which is a tough challenge - but with goodwill it can be done.

Edgar Kuester of Siemens, who is chairman of the Profibus Nutzerorganisation based in Karlsruhe, Germany, added: "This offers a new fieldbus future for end users around the world. In recent days I have discussed the situation with many colleagues, both inside my company and from other major Profibus vendors, and it's very clear that everyone is fully in favour of this opportunity. Of course there is a lot of work still to do, but with the energy and support of the Profibus community behind the initiative I can see that a successful outcome suiting all sides is possible."

Appropriate resources are now being coordinated and it is expected that, by the mid-October timeframe called for by IEC, Profibus will be part of the amended specification, allowing a positive FDIS vote to be completed by year end. Profibus International will issue regular press releases to inform about progress and is confident that a yes vote can be confirmed on 1 January 2000, meaning that the IEC 61158 fieldbus standard including Profibus can be ready for the millennium.

In parallel, Profibus International will continue to support open standardization strategy, in Europe and worldwide, as demanded by end-users who require a variety of fieldbus applications in different industries. Profibus International will also support the inclusion of North American fieldbus technology into European fieldbus standardization.

For further information, please contact Adrian Chesney, The Profibus Group, 1 West Street, Titchfield, Hants PO14 4DH, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 1329 843043; Fax: +44 (0) 1329 846166; E-mail: adrian@fieldbus.com