Enhanced EDDL in AMS Suite and 375 Communicator

Emerson has announced that its industry-leading asset management applications and tools will make full use of the enhancements to the Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL)

Emerson Process Management has announced that its industry-leading asset management applications and tools will make full use of the enhancements to the Electronic Device Description Language (EDDL).

Enhanced EDDL enables users of the Emerson AMS Suite: Intelligent Device Manager and 375 Field Communicator to take full advantage of the intelligence in HART and Foundation fieldbus instruments and valves.

The enhancements to EDDL are supported by the foundations of the major industrial device networks across the world, and are an extension of the International Standard IEC 61804-2.

Device descriptions are used by manufacturers to describe the functionality of their devices to support open communications with any host system.

EDDL has proven its effectiveness in the millions of HART and Foundation fieldbus devices installed worldwide.

The enhancements to EDDL enable users to interact with their intelligent devices in new ways.

Graphs, charts and calculations assist in the configuration of devices including complex instruments such as digital valve controllers, radar level gauges and multivariable meters.

The enhancements also support storage of historical data from field devices for troubleshooting and diagnostics.

"The EDDL enhancements bring additional benefits to users who have made AMS Device Manager the most comprehensive and widely used asset management application in the world," said Craig Llewellyn, president of Emerson Asset Optimisation division.

"AMS Device Manager has the largest installed base, offers the broadest open connectivity to host systems, and the richest set of diagnostic applications for both HART and Foundation fieldbus devices.

Similarly, the 375 Field Communicator is the only handheld that supports both HART and Foundation fieldbus devices, independent of manufacturer," continued Llewellyn.

"By embracing the enhanced EDDL functions in updated versions of these de facto standard tools, Emerson enables users to further leverage the intelligence available in field devices".

AMS Device Manager and the 375 Field Communicator are key elements of Emerson PlantWeb architecture.

The enhancements to EDDL technology relieve device developers of the burden of designing and programming a graphic display system that must run under a variety of platforms and operating systems, from PCs to small handhelds.

Instead developers can use the common graphic display capabilities afforded by the EDDL enhancements.

The increased value of enhanced EDDL is not limited to new intelligent devices.

Instrumentation suppliers can extend this capability to existing HART and Foundation fieldbus devices by creating enhanced EDDs for these devices.

AMS Device Manager and the 375 Field Communicator can be easily updated by users to add the new enhanced EDDs as they become available.

The HART Communication Foundation, Fieldbus Foundation, and Profibus Users Group support the enhancements to EDDL.

The OPC Foundation, the standard for host-level data exchange for process automation, has also endorsed it.

No other approach has received this level of industry support.

Back to top