OPC UA FX Multi-Vendor demo at SPS Italia 2025 – Parma
The OPC Foundation has been showcasing a live multi-vendor Controller-to-Controller (C2C) demo on its booth at SPS Italia (padiglione 4, stand B012). Overall, 16 controllers from different manufacturers are connected to a common network infrastructure consisting of Ethernet and Ethernet/TSN switches. All controllers provide current status and asset information via an integrated OPC UA server, which is queried and visualized via two central dashboards that act as OPC UA clients. The dashboard displays the status of OPC UA connections for all controllers in the multi-vendor demo, as well as status information about the OPC UA FX connections that are configured by OPC UA FX connection managers. The UAFX connections are used to exchange real-time data and safety-critical data between the different UAFX controller prototypes. The demonstrator itself simulates a modular bottling line, in which four machine units for washing, filling, capping, and labeling bottles are combined to form a production line. For demonstrating cross-vendor interoperability, each of these units is equipped with a control system from a different manufacturer.
The multi-vendor demo has been realized with the support of the following companies:
ABB, Beckhoff, B&R, Bosch Rexroth, Cisco, CoDeSys, Emerson, Festo, Hirschmann-Belden, Honeywell, Huawei, Keba, Kuka, Lenze, Mitsubishi Electric, Moxa, Omron, Phoenix Contact, Rockwell Automation, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Unified Automation, Wago, and Yokogawa.
OPC UA FX Demo at SPS Italia in Parma
Field Conference at SPS Italia 2025 – Parma
OPC Foundation’s Field Level Communications (FLC) initiative held its Field Conference about extending OPC UA to the field-level at SPS Italia in Parma on May 14, 2025. The event took place next to the OPC Foundation’s booth and was presented in both English and Italian language.
Initially, Peter Lutz (Director FLC) outlined the overall vision, the solution approach – including the key enabling technologies such as Ethernet-APL, Ethernet TSN and 5G – and the ecosystem readiness. After that, industry experts Allesandra Icardi (Schneider Electric), Davide Crespi (B&R), Stefano Schiavella (Rockwell Automation), and Davide Conti (Siemens) presented the value of an open, OPC UA-based interoperability solution, which supports the different use cases and application areas in Industrial Automation, including Functional Safety, Motion Control, Remote I/Os, and Instrumentation. The presentations provided deep insights into how various stakeholders – from end users to machine builders, system integrators, automation suppliers and data scientists – benefit from a unified communication standard based on OPC UA and OPC UA FX.
The conference concluded with a Q&A session, reinforcing the Foundation’s commitment to open standards and seamless industrial communication from field to cloud.
Slide decks are available for download from the OPC Foundation website:
Field Conference at SPS Italia in Parma
FLC Architecture Working Group Leadership Transition
OPC Foundation’s FLC initiative announces a change of leadership in the FLC Architecture Working Group. After four years of dedicated service, Greg Majcher (Rockwell Automation) is stepping down as chair of the group and hands over the leadership to Kenneth Lee (Schneider Electric) and Markus Schoisswohl (B&R) who take on the leading role as a duo. Both are recognized experts in the field of industrial automation and have long contributed to the OPC Foundation’s mission of industrial interoperability. Their appointment marks a renewed commitment to advancing the OPC UA FX technical roadmap for Controller-to-Device (C2D) and Device-to-Device (D2D) interoperability.
The OPC Foundation would like to thank Greg Majcher for his valuable leadership and welcomes Kenneth Lee and Markus Schoisswohl to their new roles.
FLC WG F2F Meeting Schedule 2025
Following the FLC WG Face-to-Face (F2F) Meeting in Washington D.C. (USA) held from March 25-28, 2025, the following additional F2F meetings are currently scheduled in addition to the weekly held webmeetings of the different FLC working groups:
- June 23-26, 2025 at Festo in Esslingen (Germany)
- September 9-12, 2025 at NXP in Austin (USA).
- November 17-20, 2025 at a European location
Working topics include networking, bootstrapping, conformance testing, offline engineering, as well as the alignment of device models for field instruments, I/O, and motion devices.
Further information can be found on the FLC WG SharePoint: https://opcfoundation.sharepoint.com/FLC-WG/SitePages/Home.aspx
Contact for interested OPCF members:
Peter Lutz, Director FLC, peter.lutz@opcfoundation.org
FLC Prototyping WG Initiates Planning for Controller-to-Device Use Case
The FLC Prototyping Working Group has begun preparations for prototyping controllers and field devices for Controller-to-Device (C2D) use cases. The objectives of the FLC Prototyping WG are to develop prototyping concepts, coordinate the implementation of prototypes, and provide feedback to the relevant OPC UA Working Groups for the improvement of specifications before release.
Furthermore, the FLC Prototyping WG is preparing a multi-vendor test and demonstration environment to support OPC UA FX plug fests and promotional activities, such as trade show or conference demonstrators. In this context, the existing Controller-to-Controller (C2C) demo walls will also to be revised and supplemented with field devices.
Vendors who are interested in becoming involved in the prototyping activities and want to contribute to the multi-vendor demos with their OPC UA FX controllers and/or OPC UA FX device prototypes (including motion devices, remote I/Os, field instruments, safety devices) should contact:
Peter Lutz, Director FLC, peter.lutz@opcfoundation.org
Jan Murzyn, Chair FLC Prototyping WG, Jan.Murzyn@mpl.mee.com
Picture: OPC UA FX C2C Demo to be revised and supplemented with field devices
Call for Experts: Device / Tool Security for Ethernet-based Communication Protocols
A new Joint Working Group (JWG) has been established as part of the Ethernet-APL Maintenance Collaboration between the OPC Foundation, FieldComm Group, ODVA, and PROFIBUS & PROFINET International to address security in Ethernet-based communication protocols. The objective is to develop a unified approach to implementing security in devices and tools aligned with IEC 62443 and IEC 61784-6 (Part Sec.) standards. The kick-off meeting will be held on June 17, 2025, 13:00–14:00 CET as a virtual meeting. Registration until June 16, 2025 (late registrations accepted until end of July 2025).
For further information contact:
Peter Lutz, Director FLC, peter.lutz@opcfoundation.org