Malmo, Sweden, September 16,2008 -- Together with Research Unit for Integrated Sensor Systems of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, connectBlue has committed itself to a three year project with the aim to make Wireless technologies even better suitable for industrial needs than today by developing needed infrastructure for wireless automation on the factory floor.
Besides enhancing the existing industrial infrastructure for wireless integration, the goal of the project called flexWare (Flexible Wireless Automation in Real-Time Environments) is to extend existing technologies to better comply with the tough requirements of industrial use (real-time, robustness, failure protection, etc.).
“We have been involved in the wireless industrial automation business for eight years now,” said Rolf Nilsson, CEO of connectBlue. “So for us, it feels only natural to offer our experience to improvement developments of wireless integration on the factory floor.”
“Compared to the situation today, flexWare will enable the possibility for inter-work between wireless nodes without restrictions in Security and scalability,” explained Mats Andersson, CTO of connectBlue. “The concept will facilitate dynamic reconfiguration of the network which in turn will allow for a guaranteed real-time behavior which is a key component in industrial applications. flexWare will also make use of localization and advanced time synchronization functionality making the installation even more robust than today.”
Once the flexWare project is completed, it will be possible to operate and control entire factories using wireless networks. A fundamental requirement for this completion is a reliable, credible, and synchronized communication. Therefore, an aim of the project is also to close possibly existing technological gaps between industry automation and wireless technology.
The project is conceived for three years. Project partners of Research Unit for Integrated Sensor Systems of the Austrian Academy of Sciences are comprised of research institutes as well as industrial companies: Institut Industrial IT (inlIT) (Germany), Institut für Automsierung und Kommunikation Automation and Communication e.V. (ifak) Magdeburg (Germany), connectBlue AB (Sweden), Oregano Systems Design and Consulting (Austria), University of Catania (Italy), Schneider Electric Industries SAS (France) and rt-solutions.de GmbH (Germany).
About connectBlue
connectBlue™ is a leading provider of wireless solutions for demanding applications in hygiene, rough environment, mobility, control, personal safety and security areas. Based on Bluetooth technology, Wireless LAN and 802.15.4, connectBlue provides ready-to-use products and modules as well as custom design solutions in both hardware and software. connectBlue was founded in 2000 and has offices in Malmö, Sweden and Chicago, USA. For more information, please visit www.connectblue.com
