ISA104 demonstration supported

31 October 2008

The Fieldbus Foundation will join other control industry leaders in supporting Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL) solutions for process automation systems and devices at the ISA104 Standards Committee's booth, at ISA EXPO 2008 in Houston, Texas, October 14-16. Process automation systems supplied by ABB, Emerson, Invensys, and Siemens will demonstrate EDDL functionality, interoperating with devices from Emerson, Endress+Hauser, Foxboro Eckardt, Metso, MTL, Samson, and Siemens.

ISA104 demonstration supported

At the ISA exhibit, information displayed on automation systems will be controlled by the device manufacturers, yet devices from different vendors will appear consistent on the same systems—a new feature for this year’s demonstration. Device types will include simple transmitters, but the focus will be on complex devices such as variable speed drives, control valve positioners, and bus diagnostics. The EDDL standard (IEC 61804-3) was created to support rich user interfaces for advanced diagnostics and sophisticated setup for multiple protocols. Also new this year is a demonstration of the use of EDDL technology coupled with WirelessHart communications protocol. This demonstration of EDDL represents a broad commitment of automation suppliers to the support of EDDL technology and significantly expanded user benefits in the use and diagnostics of field devices.

All ISA Expo 2008 attendees are encouraged to visit the ISA Standards Committee booth to learn about this open, interoperable device integration standard.

EDDL functionality to date was typically demonstrated via handheld devices or in stand-alone instrument diagnostic software. By further integrating EDDL technology into automation systems, automation vendors are significantly increasing the effectiveness of the device diagnostics in operations and maintenance by also making it accessible from operator consoles. As a text-based standard, EDDL files are independent of operating systems and thus not made obsolete by operating system upgrades. EDDL enhancements have significant acceptance and commitment among automation suppliers to its use, further development, product innovation, and deployment as the technology of choice for integrating intelligent field devices.

The EDDL technology to be demonstrated on automation systems at ISA Expo 2008 is the enhanced EDDL technology, which includes the ability to: display waveforms like radar echo curve for setup and valve hysteresis curves for diagnostics; simplify calibration efforts with wizards; communicate via Foundation fieldbus, Hart, or Profibus and tap into device manufacturer know-how through context sensitive help
Standardisation ensures access to full functionality of a device for easier adoption regardless of automation system choice. EDDL supports the complete automation lifecycle from configuration and commissioning, to operations and maintenance. EDDL is also used for automatic configuration of OPC servers to make device data accessible to a variety of software applications.

Rigorous independent testing of the EDDL file as part of the device registration process ensures interoperability amongst automation systems and devices from many different manufacturers. Integration of new devices or software versions can now be accomplished without new software installation, file overwriting or license management.

The ISA104 standards committee, Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL), continues its efforts to provide education and information on the international standard, IEC 61804-3. This standard has been adopted by ISA/ANSI to specify a Descriptive Language for describing the properties of automation system components.