Unified locating as a key to Physical AI

A collaboration between AIM-D, omlox / PI, and the OPC Foundation brings together the disciplines of identification, locating, and communication in a common spatial context.

The collaboration between AIM-D, omlox / PI, and the OPC Foundation brings together the disciplines of identification, locating, and communication.

Industrial automation is facing a paradigm shift: machines, robots, and mobile systems are learning to “understand” space. With the new OPC UA Companion Specification for Identification and Locating, AIM-D e.V., PROFIBUS & PROFINET International (PI) with the open locating standard omlox, and the OPC Foundation are establishing the foundation for a common language of “spatial intelligence.”

Physical AI, or AI that actively perceives physical space and acts contextually, requires a unified understanding of positions, movements, and identities in space. This is precisely where the new Companion Specification comes in: it harmonizes the spatial data model for absolute positions within the OPC Foundation and allows for a unified global positioning of assets in the physical and digital world.

This enables a seamless integration of spatial data into industrial IT and OT systems, a prerequisite for autonomous mobile robots, intelligent assistance systems, and self-organizing production environments.

The new specification is now freely available on the OPC Foundation’s website and is considered a milestone for the next evolutionary stage of industrial intelligence.

“Machines need a unified understanding of their position in space for coordinated interaction between stationary equipment and mobile robots in the flexible production of tomorrow,” explains Dr. Matthias Jöst, Committee Leader omlox at PI. “With the now available OPC UA Companion Spec, OPC Foundation, AIM-D, and PI jointly create the basis for a new generation of spatially networked and AI-enabled systems.”

“AIM particularly benefits from the connection between AutoID and locating technologies,” adds Peter Altes, Managing Director of AIM-D e.V. “The unified data model strengthens interoperability – a decisive prerequisite for digitally connected logistics and industry.”

Stefan Hoppe, President and Executive Director of the OPC Foundation, emphasizes: “OPC UA connects worlds – from identification to locating to control. This new specification demonstrates how open standards together create true interoperability – making the industrial Internet of Things scalable and future-proof.”

The collaboration between AIM-D, omlox / PI, and the OPC Foundation brings together the disciplines of identification, locating, and communication in a common spatial context. This creates a decisive foundation to equip robots, vehicles, and machines with a shared spatial understanding – the key to Physical AI, resilient supply chains, and autonomous industrial ecosystems.

Certified PROFINET over APL products in field tests with users

Certification is now available for all device types with PROFINET over APL.

The functionality of PROFINET for explosion-proof applications in process automation is available in its complete scope. In joint working groups, experts from PROFIBUS & PROFINET International (PI) are currently working closely with end-users to intensively evaluate the potential for use and interoperability of PROFINET over APL products from different manufacturers in several pilot plants in the chemical industry. The basis for a high degree of interoperability is a certification test for all product types, including controllers, sensors, actuators, and switches. Tests for actuators have been added to the latest version of the PROFINET Test Bundle. The first products have already successfully passed the certification tests. For example, Samson has received the first certificates for its positioners.

“In addition to developing user-friendly technology and establishing targeted measures for product quality assurance, we believe that working with users is an important step in establishing the technology in plants and promoting its acceptance. For years, we have been working closely with users throughout the entire life cycle of technology. This begins with the creation of requirements and extends to the evaluation of prototypical or real products in pilot or demo systems. The experience gained in this process is incorporated into the maintenance and further development of our technologies,” says PI Chairman Xaver Schmidt.

In addition to physical layer tests to verify suitability for intrinsically safe applications, the scope of certification testing for PROFINET over APL products includes additional APL-specific test cases for verifying PROFINET communication, the execution of an APL-specific test setup for interoperability scenarios, and tests for the Profile for PA Devices. With the availability of certification for actuators, the PI experts for PROFINET over APL have completed another step toward deployment in process automation.

In the meantime, end-users have positively evaluated the suitability of PROFINET over APL with certified products in several test lab installations. PI has initiated activities involving PI experts and users from the process industry to define further field tests. These will also be extended to the topic of security, considering the underlying non-Ethernet communication systems.

In addition, the topics of functional safety with PROFIsafe and the certification of switches are on PI’s agenda, which are also being developed in close cooperation with end-users from the process industry.

News by PROFIBUS & PROFINET International