OPC Foundation Analyzer Devices Integration (ADI) Demonstrated at ACHEMA Exhibition.

OPC Foundation Analyzer Devices Integration (ADI) Demonstrated at ACHEMA Exhibition.

Scottsdale, AZ June 15, 2009 - The OPC Foundation has announced the successful demonstration of data exchange between applications using the OPC UA Analyzer Device Integration (ADI) information model at the ACHEMA Exhibition in Frankfurt Germany, May 11-15, 2009. An information model is a specific design of OPC UA objects that represent data in an analytical industry domain. This first time display of an ADI Server integrated with an OPC UA client is an important milestone towards meeting the reference implementation requirement for OPC UA ADI specification approval.

ABB developed an ADI software model and implemented a server representing an ADI capable spectrometer device. CAS contributed by providing the OPC UA modeling tools and support for the model development.

Results of the reference implementation efforts prove that the ADI specification can be implemented in a way that allows connectivity with virtually any OPC UA client, says Voytek Janisz, Systems Architect at ABB.

We were pleased to help with the implementation by providing tools that reduced the effort through graphical visualization of the model and its just-in-time verification, adds Mariusz Postol, CEO at CAS.

A prototype of the OPC UA client for OSIsoft PI System collected the ADI servers spectral data, which was then visualized in Excel using PI DataLink. The ADI server and subsequent integration confirmed that the ADI specification can be implemented.

In order to set up the demonstration at ACHEMA, facilitated by Werum Software & Systems, the OSIsoft OPC UA client browsed the ABB OPC UA ADI server and automatically created ADI information model objects with appropriate hierarchies and PI tags in the PI System, illustrating the plug and play benefits that are anticipated with the release of the ADI specification.
This ability to quickly integrate ADI data demonstrates the flexibility and interoperability of the OPC UA standard and the PI System, says Alisher Maksumov, Software Engineering Group Lead at OSIsoft.

Visitors to the booth were impressed that the PI System software worked with ADI server without any predefined data exchange designs between ABB and OSIsoft. This demonstrates the fact that OPC UA is a superior standard for integration, collaboration, and interoperability between different vendors.

The OPC Foundation released the draft ADI Specification for review in December 2008. This new specification provides a common data exchange method for process and laboratory analyzers. Developed as a logical extension of the OPC UA specifications, the OPC ADI Specification serves as an information model for analyzer devices and enables true plug-and-play multivendor interoperability. Analyzer integration based on standards offers a unique opportunity in Data Management and Integration for solutions such as Process Analytical Technology (PAT).

Since the release of the draft specification, the working group has focused on delivering an ADI server reference implementation. This demonstration of the ADI information model at the ACHEMA Exhibition is an important milestone in achieving this goal. The final release of the OPC ADI specification is scheduled for the second half of 2009.

The OPC Foundation working group, composed of end-users and vendors, collaborated to define and finalize the specification. The working group has grown from several founding members to a large multi-industry group that includes large pharmaceutical and food companies and vendors of analytical devices, control systems and integration software. The working group represents both Process Analytical Technology (PAT) and laboratory industries.

"The OPC Unified Architecture was specifically designed to host higher level information models such as ADI. This demonstration proves that we have succeeded in our goal to enable seamless interoperability at a much higher semantic level than ever before, which will usher in a new era of cost savings enjoyed by both end-users and vendors," said Thomas Burke, President of the OPC Foundation.

OPC Unified Architecture provides a base foundation of services for discovery, read/write and subscription for information that is described by industry standards organizations focused on information modeling. The OPC Unified Architecture Analyzer Device Specification will leverage the information model architecture of OPC UA facilitating complete data access and exchange services with secure transactional capability via the SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) for configuration data, diagnostic data, and runtime operational data for all analyzer devices.

About The OPC Foundation:

The OPC Foundation, dedicated to interoperability in automation and enterprise computing, is an independent, non-profit organization that comprises leading manufacturers and solution providers in factory and process automation as well as providers of enterprise solutions. The OPC Foundation's charter is to develop worldwide industry standards for data transfer offering multi-vendor interoperability and seamless connectivity of measurement and automation devices, systems, networks, and enterprise computing solutions used in the manufacturing and process industries, by leveraging open computing technologies. Board members and Officers are unpaid volunteers. Development of specifications is undertaken by volunteers from 420+ members worldwide. For more information about the OPC Foundation visit http://www.opcfoundation.org

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