X20 I/O Implements OPC UA Pub/Sub 14452X20 I/O Implements OPC UA Pub/Sub

A new X20 I/O system bus controller from B&R Industrial Automation makes it possible to implement OPC UA communication from sensors to the ERP layer without using any interfaces, or a connected PLC. Using an OPC UA server implemented in the X20 system, any OPC UA client can request information about connected I/O modules and sensors, and can change or read the I/O points connected to it.

"Users are able to deploy basic I/O, a temperature module or a high-speed counter, and there is no need for a PLC to be able to turn devices on/off or monitor and retrieve data. Basically, users have a headless I/O system that can be used to retrieve information from sensors, or pass sensor data up to higher enterprise-level software systems," Derrick Stacey, solutions engineer, B&R Industrial Automation, told Design News.