Date | Event | Response |
---|---|---|
1980's | Process instrumentation complexity increases | Text based Device Descriptions (DD's) are used to integrate instruments to systems. |
1990's | Multiple Device Description Languages (DDL) are authored to simplify DD development | Standarization efforts begin, resulting in 2006 approval of IEC 61804 EDDL Specification. |
1990's | Microsoft Windows based control systems penetrate market and device complexity continues to increase. | FDT/DTM technology is developed, centered around WIndows based control systems and executables rather than text files |
2000's | Microsoft Windows based operating systems (OS) became the norm, host systems became linked to operating system software upgrades. | Some host systems suppliers only supported FDT/DTM, others only supported EDDL. As new Windows Service Packs and full version releases were made, each DTM needed to be re-verified with the new OS. Often, changes in a DTM were required to function in the new version of the OS. |
By the mid-2000's the burden of integration of the device to the host system was spread across the value chain.
All of these factors contribute to inefficiency, cost increases, complexity and a tendency to avoid system upgrades. As a result many host systems in brownfield installations are operating with versions of software that are sometimes 5-10 years out of date.
FDI technology has been developed and is supported by the automation industry's leading technology foundations and suppliers to adress these issues. FDI combines the advantages of FDT(tm) with those of EDDL into a single scalable solution.