<title>Development of tools for addressing device interoperability</title>

Abstract

The great diversity of the devices that need to be interconnected in the industrial environment creates the need for interoperability. Communication interoperability is dealt with by using the Manufacturing Message Specification ISO 9506 standard in the Application Layer of industrial networks, which provides an abstract representation of the external characteristics of real manufacturing devices. In addition to the communication interoperability, the need for device interoperability has led to the defmition of the User Layer: an eighth layer in the OSI-RM for fieldbuses. The ISA/IEC 5P50 emerging standard on fieldbuses defmes the characteristics ofthe User Layer functionality and the required objects. This paper presents an integrated solution for problems associated with industrial communications and control being developed at the University of Patras, Greece. Specific object oriented tools are being developed for the User Layer. The Function Block Builder tool allows the defmition and creation of Function Block objects according to the emerging fieldbus standard. The Graphical Editing tool provides an integrated environment for the creation of Logical Node objects by means of interconnecting Function Block objects. The above tools are part of an integrated environment consisting of the Application Layer (MMS) and the Network Management software. Furthermore, the Graphical Editing tool provides the capability of mn-time monitoring as well as of dynamic reconfiguration of the industrial application. Finally, the complete system has been installed in industrial test-bed applications.