Everything is moving – this expression describes best the dynamics in production and logistics today. Products, robots, autonomous vehicles, and humans in between. To ensure a smooth production flow in such a mobile environment, machines and software systems need a common understanding of the positions of things in space.
Some associations have already dedicated themselves to the aspects of "location and positioning" in the past. Some OPC UA Companion Specifications already contain data descriptions in this regard. Coming from the aspect of identification, the association AIM-D e.V. published an OPC UA Companion Specification AutoID. The location standard omlox from PROFIBUS & PROFINET International (PI) allows seamless and technology-independent provision of location data in production and logistics.
The three associations have now joined forces to form a joint working group to develop a new OPC UA Companion Specification "Global Positioning". The goal of the Companion Specification is to define geometric positions in space on a local and global level to ensure a seamless transition between production, intralogistics and logistics. It completes existing Companion Specifications with the aspect of positioning and allows location data from omlox systems to be easily further processed within the OPC world and refined with additional data.
"Interoperability is not only necessary between manufacturers, but also between standards," says Dr. Matthias Jöst – Committee Leader for omlox – within PI. "In particular in the exchange between different communities, many synergies and new potentials arise."