Smar attends the FDI Plugfest meeting (Fieldcomm Group) in Berlin

SMAR was present at Plugfest, event that took place between 10 and 14 July / 2017 in Berlin, Germany. The event was organized by FieldComm Group, an organization that joined HART Communication Foundation (HCF) and Fieldbus Foundation (FF). The Fieldcomm Group promotes HART and FF protocols, besides FDI (Field Device Integration) technology. In the event Smar was represented by software development manager Omar Donaires.

FDI technology brings together the benefits of EDDL (Electronic Device Description Language) and FDT / DTM (Field Device Tool / Device Type Manager) technologies, integrating and delivering these benefits through the OPC / UA (Open Process Control / Unified Architecture) platform. FDI technology is the result of a combination of various technologies to provide field equipment information for automation systems.

FDI is a technology standardized by IEC, as well as EDDL. It allows standardized and uniform integration of the field equipment of the most diverse manufacturers and several protocols, including HART, FF and PROFIBUS, to automation systems. This is done through an FDI Device Package, which brings together, in a single file, the EDD of a specific device with information such as images, manuals and graphical applications for configuration and equipment maintenance. It let available not only variable values of equipment but also advanced information and graphical user-friendly presentations, that makes easy the interaction of users with the field equipment.

The event began on July 10, with technical meetings of various Fieldcomm Group work groups. The purpose of the meetings was to continue the development of HART, FF and FDI technologies. On Thursday, July 13, in the afternoon and on July 14, in the morning, the event Plugfest took place. Plugfest's goal was to let to manufacturers of automation software and field equipment the opportunity to test their software and equipment with each other. The event included five host systems from four different manufacturers - one of the largest in the automation industry - and thirteen field devices from eight different manufacturers, including the SMAR LD301 pressure transmitter.

Host systems were available on a bench on the tables in the hotel's conference room. The equipment had an hour of testing in each one of these benches. The organizers of the event elaborated a schedule that allowed all equipment to be tested with each one of the software systems present at the event.

LD301, the Smar Pressure transmitter, for example, was tested with each of the software participating in the event. For this, an FDI Device Package was created for the LD301. The LD301 FDI Device Package tests on all host systems were successful: communication was established, allowing navigation through the machine menus, and reading and writing variables and executing methods defined through the EDDL were performed with success.