Standard being developed for industrial IoT

USA: With the internet increasingly being used as a controls vehicle, a new control-networking standard is being developed for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

The new LonTalk/IP standard would add native IP addressing to the international standard ISO/IEC 14908-1 Control Networking Protocol. It is seen as a crucial element of control networking platforms that require connectivity to larger, enterprise networks and the Internet. It is said that the new standard will enable control networking applications to leverage standard IP infrastructure, IP network administration tools, and IP diagnostic tools.

The standard is being developed by control systems developer LonMark with the cooperation of open-standard control networking platform company Echelon and the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN).

“The time is right for a new control networking standard for IP because the global market for control networking products is rapidly evolving for consumers and industry as new mobile products, IoT devices, and IIoT solutions rapidly enter the market,” said Ron Bernstein, executive director, LonMark International.

“Some of the leading IIoT solutions where the new standard will be deployed will be in building automation systems, lighting control systems, transportation automation systems, smart city applications, and utility metering systems,” he added.

LonMark International has received the letter that Echelon submitted to CEN TC-247 stating their intent to make certain intellectual property held by Echelon for control networking on IP networks available to developers of LON products on EN/ISO/ANSI RAND (reasonable and non-discriminatory) terms as required by the relevant national and international standards bodies.

Echelon and LonMark International also intend to support development of the new standard within EN TC-247, under the leadership of Peter Fischer, professor of Applied Sciences at the University of Dortmund, Germany and convener of CEN TC-247.

The TC-247 committee met in Basil, Switzerland this month and accepted Echelon’s intellectual property proposal. Prof Fischer will work with the committee to develop a preliminary draft of the new standard.

LonMark International intends to bring the same standard through the ANSI/CTA standards body concurrently. This LonTalk/IP extension to the LON catalogue of standards will greatly enhance the usability and deployment of larger systems and provide an open control networking solution for the IIoT.