Product category:
Plant- and Machine-Wide Communications
News Release from: System Devices | Subject: Opto 22 SNAP Ethernet I/O
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 04 August 2000
Ethernet goes way beyond control
There's no doubt that Ethernet has a fantastic future and one which will go way beyond industrial control, says System Devices MD Roger Williams
As summer arrives and rivers begin to dry out, how do water companies know if there is a chance of drought? How does your office or factory reconcile rising outside temperatures with a comfortable working environment? The answer is via the Ethernet Originally developed in the late 1970s as part of a US research project into how the office of the future might function, the Ethernet's high speed, low cost and ease of installation meant that it was always going to have popular appeal across many sectors
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 8 Jul 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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The Ethernet is essentially a local area network (or LAN) that transmits information between computers at very high speeds.
From the time of the first Ethernet standard, its specifications have been freely available.
This openness, together with its ease of use and robustness, has resulted in widespread acceptance of the technology by the computer industry.
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So most vendors equip their products with Ethernet attachments, allowing a wide range of computers to communicate and giving a high degree of network interoperability.
Today, water companies use it to relay remote information from their monitoring stations.
Building managers use it to pass information from external sensors so that heating, ventilation and lighting can be maintained at the correct levels.
According to a survey by Automation Research Company, 96% of the world's networks use Ethernet TCP/IP.
In fact the Internet-led convergence of voice, data, broadcasting, cable and all manner of wireless technologies today is all being made possible by the Ethernet.
System Devices believes that the future for control automation lies with the Internet too.
The UK's sole supplier of Opto 22 products offers a range of products from the company which has chosen the Ethernet as the driving force for its next generation of Fieldbus products.
"The choice was easy really," explained System Devices MD Roger Williams.
"Almost all PCs today are equipped with an Ethernet TCP/IP port and the network components are available everywhere." A new development, FactoryFloor 3.0 integrates closely with Opto 22's world class control hardware, including the SNAP I/O line of industrial controllers and I/O modules.
The new release will make automation projects both faster and cheaper.
However, as uptake of Opto 22's SNAP Ethernet I/O is showing, the Ethernet has an equally bright future in non-industrial automation applications.
Telephone companies, Internet service providers and OEMs are just some of the many users now taking up the technology.
"There's no doubt that the Ethernet has a fantastic future and one which will go way beyond industrial control," concluded Williams.
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