Product News: FDT 3.0 standard & toolkits advance IIoT efforts
The non-profit FDT Group has released a new, platform-independent Version 3.0 of its FDT standard, the first version of which was launched nearly 20 years ago, as an open platform to solve interoperability issues for control system and device end-users.
FITS architecture: The FDT IIoT Server (FITS) was created to provide universal device integration together with a data-centric platform with modern and diverse deployment options such as for cloud, enterprise, edge, on premise and single-user desktop environments.
Central to FDT 3.0 is the FDT IIoT Server (FITS), which was designed to empower digital transformation initiatives for the automation supplier and end-user communities in the process, hybrid and discrete manufacturing markets. In addition to the new FDT 3.0 standard that fully describes the FITS platform, FDT Group has released FDT 3.0 Developer Toolkits to help the vendor community jumpstart development efforts with a modernized Integrated Development Environment (IDE) to easily create and customize next-generation, cross-platform FDT 3.0 solutions.
The new FITS architecture is an enabler of scalable, remote access business solutions and services that are needed now to meet changing market demands,” said Glenn Schulz, managing director, FDT Group. “By delivering the FDT FITS specification and platform independent toolkits simultaneously, we are enabling the immediate deployment of this new technology. To meet the digital transformational needs for next generation smart plants and factories, the FITS architecture is scalable from skid to cloud, sits at a peer level with the control system and integrates all industrial control networks. This approach provides secure, remote access to live device and network data across the enterprise without PLC/DCS host intervention. While the FITS standard is fully browser based, we have also built in a full OPC UA server to provide an industry standard conduit for IT and OT information integration.”
FDT 3.0 specification license agreements and developer toolkits are now available at the FDT website. In addition to the FDT 3.0 standard and developer toolkits, an IO-Link Interpreter DTM is under development along with FDT communication annexes for HART, Profibus, IO-Link and CIP networks slated for release in the latter half of 2020.
