The buzz in the automation blogsphere this week is undoubtedly on wireless (yet again).  Most of it is in regards to the ISA Wireless Summit, which Walt Boyes and Gary Mintchell had some good conversations on.  In reading Jim Cahill’s break down of John Berra’s speech, it struck me as a very familiar story.  The push for standardization, the adoption cycle, and potential for increased access to information and the side effects this may produce are all echo the history of OPC and where it is going with OPC UA.  The same can probably be said for many established standards, but here’s my OPC take on John’s speech.

On Opportunities:

 “But if what we do as a technology doesn’t transfer into allowing plants to run better, safer…it isn’t going to survive.”

OPC survives because it offers value by providing access to data that was difficult or impossible for higher applications to get at previously.  You can replace the word ‘Wireless’ with ‘OPC’ in John’s next statement, and create the perfect OPC quote.

“Wireless offers opportunities for better business and plant management, for better workforce productivity, for better plant and process information. It provides access to information that was out of reach or very expensive to access, so you can do things you couldn’t do before. The technology is proven and ready to deliver results today – with more capabilities coming.”

On Moving to Reality:

“Reliability and security are also critical to overcome. […]  We have not achieved 100%, but I don’t think, that we have to wait for the 100%. We all have products in the field that are meeting many of those objections, and perhaps even all of them. […]”

As someone once said “With great power comes great responsibility”.  The first step is accessing the data, the next is ensuring it gets to the right people at the right time.    When someone starts talking about wireless, the topics of security and reliability are sure to surface.  These are the same challenges OPC is dealing with, through innovative products, proper architecture and are key features of the OPC UA specification.   As with any technology that offers the power of increased access to information, OPC and wireless need to be implemented responsibly.

On Standards:

“Users want standards for wireless – and so do I. Users want confidence wireless equipment and networks will work together, regardless of supplier – now, and years from now. They don’t want to be locked into proprietary networks. Standards are good for suppliers, too. […]   Standards increase user willingness to buy. They give us confidence the approach we’re taking will be accepted in the marketplace.  But mostly, standards are good for our customers.”

Again if you replace ‘wireless’ with ‘OPC’ you hear echoes from the dark times of device connectivity before OPC came about.   Many of the points John makes on creating standards are right on the money in terms of OPC and the development of the OPC UA specifications.

• “Don’t invent the standard unless you have to, unless there is nothing that can serve.”
• “Don’t try to reinvent something that is already well proven and already exists. “

• “Stay close to the end users.”
• “Leverage the hard work that has already been done”
• “…setting politics aside and leveraging proven technologies to deliver a solid, usable standard as quickly as possible. “

You have to remember that John’s whole speech was an excellent talk on wireless standards, but there were just so many parallels to OPC, that I couldn’t say it better myself.  So I didn’t try.

Love it or not, OPC has opened a world of opportunities for data access.  Wireless is going to up that number exponentially, and OPC UA even more.  So as the man said, let’s get on with it.