VAN - Virtual Automation Networks

Ziel von VAN ist die Adaption, Modifizierung und Erweiterung von existierenden IT-Kommunikationstechnologien entsprechend den spezifischen Anforderungen der Industriellen Kommunikation: Real-Time (Echtzeit), Wireless (drahtlose Übertragung), Security (Integrität) and Safety (Personensicherheit). Es soll eine neue Dimension in der horizontalen und vertikalen Integration von Büro- und Industrieautomationsbereichen erreicht werden. VAN fokussiert dabei auf industrielle Automatisierungsnetzwerke für die Verbindung lokaler und entfernter Teile von verteilten Automatisierungsfunktionen als bedeutendem Teil einer flexiblen Fertigungsautomatisierung von zukünftigen wissensbasierten, intelligenten und agilen Fertigungsunternehmen.

The leading trend in industrial automation is its penetration by IT technologies. Due to their origin in the office world, indeed these technologies and concepts do not reach the industrial standards in areas as security, wireless, safety, and real-time. To keep its dominant market position for automation systems Europe, first, has to cope with the technical challenges which follow from this paradigm change and, second, has to avoid dependencies from the mostly non-European producers of such IT technologies. Correspondingly, the objective of VAN is to adopt, modify and extend common office communication/IT solutions according to the above mentioned standards, aiming at real knowledge-based, intelligent, agile manufacturing enterprises. This implies new dimensions in the horizontal and vertical integration between office and industrial automation domains. In this context VAN aims at a concrete series of advantages for European industry: - Leadership in integrating IST into industrial communication technologies for embedded, networked, distributed automation systems - Strengthen the competitiveness and competence of Europe in industrial automation and communication technology ; remarkable contribution to international standardisation - System integration over local and remote heterogeneous networks - Virtual Automation Networks - Provide new technologies and extensions to existing IST to fulfil the requirements of industrial applications; Wireless concepts for industry - Infrastructure for the joint use of embedded devices and IT systems in industrial automation, enabling multi-stakeholder involvement for multidisciplinary and dynamic industrial environments - Scalable real-time, security and safety capabilities for industrial demands The VAN project focuses on an important part of a flexible manufacturing automation scheme: the required industrial communication network for local and wide-area connection between the parts of the automation functions. The main focus is directed on the Industrial Communications with its specific requirements in real-time, safety and security. The developed solutions shall be applicable for the integration into industrial embedded devices with limited resources.
www.van-eu.eu