Smart transducers with digital out and inputs are improving in performance and cost efficiency, but are still not readily incorporated into factories for automation, given reservations regarding the interoperability of different vendor devices. Within the scope of this project, SAL is playing the key role in enabling interoperability of different sensors with the network capable application processor (NCAP) from a different sensor vendor, thus allowing for a migration path to sensor manufacturers who do not want to become a network field manufacturer. To enable this interoperability, we focus on the design and demonstration of “plug and play” capability for smart transducers for IEC 61499 application using IEEE 1451 standards for factory control and communications. The IEEE 1451 standard was developed to unify the communications between sensors to solve this problem. We employ MQTT and/or OPC-UA protocols for the exchange of data and transducer electronic data sheet (TEDS) from smart transducers.
This research project is a collaboration between SAL, Johannes Kepler University (JKU) and University of Beira Interior (UBI). A dashboard application is created to demonstrate this interoperability, where data from sensors at SAL is read by an NCAP at UBI. The NCAP activates different actuators at UBI based on this sensor data. The dashboard application is also used to interact with actuators at UBI and SAL locations.
