FDT Group, an independent not-for-profit industry association that supports the evolution of FDT technology, released its platform-independent FDT 3.0 – FDT IIoT Server (FITS) standard, built to empower digital transformational benefits for the automation supplier and end-user communities in the process, hybrid and discrete markets.
The association also released FDT 3.0 Developer Toolkits to help the vendor community begin development efforts with a modern Integrated Development Environment (IDE) to easily create and customize next-generation, cross-platform FDT 3.0 solutions.
The new FDT 3.0 standard will help facilitate the Fourth Industrial Revolution by enabling FDT-based solutions to meet IIoT and Industry 4.0 applications.
“The new FITS architecture is a powerhouse that is the enabler for scalable, remote access business solutions and services that are needed now to meet changing market demands,” said Glenn Schulz, managing director for FDT Group, in a press release. “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,” Schulz added, “the FITS architecture is scalable from skid to cloud, sits at a peer level with the control system and integrates all industrial control networks.”
The FDT IIoT ecosystem consists of FDT Server, FDT Desktop and FDT DTM components, which are fully deployable out of the box using the IDE tools, known as Common Components. System and device suppliers can take a standard they are familiar with and easily create and customize standards-based, data-centric, cross-platform FDT IIoT solutions—expanding their portfolio offerings to meet requirements for next-generation industrial control applications.
Each solution auto-enables OPC UA integration and allows development teams to focus on value-added features that differentiate their products, including WebUI and app support. FDT Desktop applications are fully backwards-compatible, supporting the existing install base.
FDT 3.0 specification license agreements and developer toolkits are now available on 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.