New ODVA sensor network will use Omron technology

ODVA - formerly the Open DeviceNet Vendors` Association - has announced plans to develop a new network for simple sensors and actuators. Called CipNet, the new network will be based on a technology developed by Omron, which has given ODVA the rights to develop the new standard based on the technology.

The new network is designed to complement and expand the existing CIP (Common Industrial Protocol) family of automation networks, which include EtherNet/IP and another sensor and actuator network - DeviceNet.

CipNet will be targeted at applications, such as conveyors and assembly machines, that need large numbers of distributed sensors and actuators. It is designed to transmit small packets of data rapidly between controllers and the field devices using "cost-effective" media that are easy to install.

ODVA executive director Katherine Voss says that the new network "will expand the options available to users of CIP networks and will empower them to choose the best network architecture for specific applications".

Explaining Omron`s decision to make its technology available to ODVA, Fumio Tateishi, president of the company`s industrial automation business, says that "Omron has recognised that open and interoperable network technologies are the future for industrial networks and that CIP is the world`s best-in-class protocol to achieve this goal. In addition, ODVA provides the organisational strength needed to ensure that that this technology is made available and successfully deployed to industry."

ODVA has formed a Special Interest Group to create the specification enhancements needed to add the new protocol to its suite of networks. The new specification could be published as soon as the first quarter of 2006.