June 1, 1999: New Conformance Test Policy, Interoperability Test, and EDS Checker

May 18, 1999: New ControlNet Conformance Test Version

May 5, 1999: New Modbus/TCP Conformance Test Site

April 9, 1999: New ControlNet Conformance Test Version

March 11, 1999: New Conformance Test Versions

February 19, 1999: New DeviceNet Interoperability Test Specification released for review

January 24-27, 1999: 5th Annual ODVA meeting

1998 News

March 3, 2000: IMPACT Group moves to new location on North Campus

From February 25, 2000 to March 3, 2000, the IMPACT Group and Sensor Bus Laboratories moved to the Engineering Programs Building located on Hayward Ave.  We will be located here for about nine months and we will eventually move back to the Center for Display Technologies and Manufacturing.  Click here for a map displaying our new location. 

October 1, 1999: New UROP Students join the IMPACT team

Five new students from the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program at the University of Michigan have been selected to join the IMPACT/Sensor Bus team.  Richard Session, Cristina Oproiu, and Marie Lafkiotes will be working as assistant webmasters for the lab web pages, while Adam Koch and Curt Prudden will be working as lab assistants for the Sensor Bus project.

June 1, 1999: New Conformance Test Policy, Interoperability Test, and EDS Checker

ODVA has officially released a new Conformance Test Policy and DeviceNet Interoperability Test Specification Version 2.0. All devices tested by the lab must pass this new Interoperability Test. Also, ODVA has released an EDS Checker Tool. All EDS files supplied with devices for testing must pass this checker. The Conformance Test Policy, Interoperability Test Specification, and EDS Checker Manual are available in the Documents section.

May 18, 1999: New ControlNet Conformance Test Version

Version 7 of the ControlNet Conformance Software has been built and sent to ControlNet International for official release.  All device tests conducted by the lab will now use this version.

May 5, 1999: New Modbus/TCP Conformance Test Site

An independent testing laboratory has been established at The University of Michigan's Sensor Bus Lab for the testing of Modbus/TCP over TCP/IP solutions.  This laboratory utilizes an established, documented, and freely available mechanism for compliance certification of devices on a Modbus/TCP over a TCP/IP network. This certification includes procedures and reporting mechanisms to demonstrate conformance and interoperability of Modbus/TCP devices.  More information is available at http://www.modicon.com/openmbus.

April 9, 1999: New ControlNet Conformance Test Version

Version 6 of the ControlNet Conformance Software has been built and sent to ControlNet International for official release. All device tests conducted by
the lab will now use this version.

March 11, 1999: New Conformance Test Versions

Version A-12 of the DeviceNet Conformance Test Software and Version 5 of the ControlNet Conformance Software have been released!  All device tests conducted by the labs will now use these versions.

February 19, 1999: New DeviceNet Interoperability Test Specification released for review

The new test specification has been compiled by John Korsakas of the U of M lab, and it has been submitted to the Conformance SIG for final review.  Copies of the current and new Interoperability Test Specifications are available on the Documents page.  NOTE: the current test is now pass/fail - all devices being conformance tested MUST pass this test!

January 24-27, 1999: 5th Annual ODVA meeting

At the Conformance SIG meetings, the existing Interoperability Test was voted to become a pass/fail test.  Additional tests were added from proposals from ODVA-Japan and The University of Warwick.  John Korsakas of the U of M lab was assigned the task of compiling the new test specification.  A new Physical Layer Test was also discussed, and should be reviewed and accepted in the near future.
General Motors announced that all devices they use must be conformance tested.

November 1998: New Conformance Test Software Version

Version A-11 of the DeviceNet Conformance Software has been released. This has been deployed in the lab.  All tests will be conducted on this new version, as version A-10 will no longer be used.

April 17, 1998: University of Michigan DeviceNet Conformance Test Laboratory Moving to a LargeFacility

The North American DeviceNet Conformance Test Laboratory at The University of Michigan has moved to a larger facility. The new location is in the North Campus Center for Display Technologies and Manufacturing (CDTM) building at 2360 Bonisteel Boulevard. This is about one mile from the previous location. The new facility has 200 additional square feet of laboratory space, additional computing power, and access to full office environment. The move was prompted by a desire to expand the capabilities of the lab in response to a marked increase in requests for conformance testing as well as to accommodate new DeviceNet and ControlNet R&D projects (such as device and system simulation and benchmarking). Click Here for information on the new laboratory including directions from Detroit Metro airport.


April 1, 1998: University of Michigan Conformance Test Laboratory Reaches Milestone: 50 Devices Officially Tested 

 James Moyne and Jigney Shah University of Michigan DeviceNet Conformance Test Laboratory

The University of Michigan's DeviceNet conformance test laboratory reached a significant milestone in December as it officially tested its 50th device for conformance to the DeviceNet specifications. The laboratory, which has been in operation since August of 1996, is the site for all North American official DeviceNet conformance testing. "We've come a long way since that first test," notes Dr. James Moyne, the laboratory director. "The protocol test suite now involves over 10,000 tests, and we've recently added a number of physical layer tests and an interoperability test." Laboratory conformance customers have also come a long way. "The first year, many of our customers were unaware of how the testing process or the testing software worked," notes Jigney Shah, manager of the laboratory. "Today, with a comprehensive test web site in place, training classes, and increased customer awareness, the process has become very smooth and efficient. Its a good thing too because we're testing more devices per month now than ever before." With this large number of devices having gone through the laboratory, useful statistics on device testing can be generated. For example, of the 50 devices, 39 eventually passed for a passage rate of 78%. Its interesting to note however that only 56% passed the conformance test procedure at the lab on the first try. "Many of our customers had to iterate through two or three test visits to the lab in order to iron out a few errors," notes Dr. Moyne. "We are happy to work with customers to make sure they get their products through. Our objective is not to test products, but to pass products."

February 1998:  Lab Relocation

The Conformance Testing Laboratories have moved to the Center for Display Technology and Manufacturing on the U of M North Campus.
New Lab Phone: (734) 764-4336