Totally Horizontal and Vertical Integration for Automation Systems - Virtual Automation Networks

Current situation in industry is characterized by a strong trend towards distributed automation systems based on intelligent devices and intelligent decision making. This affects on the one hand the hardware components and on the other hand the approaches of software development and processing. In addition to this, Ethernet technologies are penetrating more and more the field device level applying more and more IT standards well-known from the office world which have to be adapted to meet industrial requirements. This Work-in-Progress paper - based on the new European IST NMP Integrated Project VAN - presents research activities to overcome the gap between these office technologies and automation technology requirements and also to provide a communication infrastructure with appropriate real- time, security, safety and wireless mechanisms to interact in heterogeneous communication environments resulting in Virtual Automation Networks - VAN.