Terminology
In the November issue of Automation World we will have a short article on operator interface. While proof-reading the piece from contributing editor Kenna Amos, I noticed that various marketing people in the industry fudge terms to an amazing degree. You as an end user probably already know what you are buying, but make sure if you go out for bids on new stuff that you know if it's a dedicated operator interface display (and if so, what communication protocols it supports) or if it is a PC with HMI software. Some manufacturers of small displays discovered that they could also make PCs and sent press releases making it sound like this was new technology. Hate to tell them, but when I worked with an automated machinery builder in the 80s, we sometimes put a PC on a machine.
When I interviewed Mike Tennefoss of Echelon, he pointed out another instance where readers must be educated. He is concerned that the ZigBee Alliance members (it must be noted that there is a competitive element here) might be trying to make the ZigBee industry standard appear to be an IEEE standard (802.15.4). This is not the case. The industry standard protocols are built on top of the IEEE standard infrastructure.
Standards are another area to watch for careful definition of terms. There are industry standards, standards sanctioned by government (ANSI, IEC), standards sanctioned by professional groups (IEEE, ISA) and probably standards made up by someone. This is another case of "buyer better evaluate what he's thinking of buying."
4:28:08 AM 
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