Honeywell introduces SDK, simplifying IIoT connectivity

Honeywell Process Solutions has announced Matrikon FLEX OPC Unified Architecture Software Development Kit — a fully scalable software toolkit that simplifies the interconnection of industrial software systems, enabling them to communicate with each other regardless of platform, operating system or size. It is designed for applications where minimal memory and processing resources are common. Honeywell made the announcement at Hannover Messe 2017 in Hannover, Germany.

Intended for use by discrete and process industry manufacturers, commercial customers and automation OEMs, Matrikon FLEX is the first high-performance developer toolkit that quickly and easily enables any application, regardless of size, with OPC UA. It is the only SDK that meets the entire scope of market requirements — from small embedded chips to enterprise servers. It will be a key component of Honeywell’s Connected Plant.

“Honeywell Connected Plant is our holistic approach to anticipating and meeting the needs of customers by leveraging the power of the IIoT,” said Shree Dandekar, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Connected Plant. “Within this environment, OPC UA plays a key role in enabling outcome-based business solutions. Our introduction of Matrikon FLEX underscores the importance of this technology.”

Growing adoption of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0 is driving requirements for open and secure connectivity between devices (eg, machine-to-machine or M2M) and edge-to-cloud solutions. Since OPC UA serves as a key data connectivity standard, vendors are seeking to enable their new and existing products with this technology to compete in the IIoT/Industry 4.0 landscape.

According to Arun Ananthampalayam, Honeywell Connected Plant senior product marketing manager, the new Matrikon FLEX SDK delivers a “one-stop shop” client and server solution for industrial organisations with diverse connectivity needs.

“Matrikon FLEX incorporates embedded-first principles, which makes the toolkit smaller and more suitable for use in resource-constrained applications,” Ananthampalayam said. “This SDK has the industry’s lowest memory requirement and as such operates efficiently, so there are sufficient CPU resources for correct device functionality.”

Tom Burke, president and executive director, OPC Foundation, commented, “In order to quickly and efficiently implement OPC UA, suppliers need a toolkit to minimise development time and effort and deliver secure and reliable products. Honeywell’s new SDK is ideal for companies getting started with OPC UA to take advantage of the growth of the IIoT. It provides a way to launch OPC UA-enabled products faster and with fewer changes.”

With its ‘server/client-in-a-box’ design, Matrikon FLEX provides a fast, seamless method of implementing optimised OPC UA products without requiring development personnel to be OPC UA experts. Unlike vendors requiring a separate OPC UA toolkit when implementing products on different platforms, Honeywell claims to be offering the only toolkit that developers need to use, maintain and update all of their products. It is said to be an efficient answer to deploying IIoT connectivity across a product portfolio.

Matrikon FLEX also employs a robust design to maximise product uptime. This approach allows OPC UA to be implemented in products with minimal computing resources. The toolkit provides pool-based memory management and runs on virtually any system: from resource-constrained embedded platforms to powerful PC-based applications.

By using Matrikon FLEX, vendors can focus their development efforts and resources on core business competencies, knowing their products deliver good interoperability and security as well as data connectivity.