Austin, TX, Nov. 18, 2003 -- The Fieldbus Foundation announces the release of its new Interoperability Testing Kit (ITK) Automation Tool. Developed for FOUNDATION™ fieldbus device manufacturers, the new automation tool accelerates the process involved in preparing fieldbus products for registration.

The ITK Automation Tool is designed to eliminate several manual intervention steps required when performing preregistration testing of H1 fieldbus devices. The tool improves ITK schedule efficiency and provides a direct reduction in the person-hours needed to complete the testing phase.

According to the Fieldbus Foundation's product manager-fieldbus products, Stephen Mitschke, the ITK Automation Tool is the latest solution available to help automation equipment suppliers reduce time-to-market for FOUNDATION fieldbus devices. "The foundation continues to support the needs of device developers by introducing this valuable testing tool," said Mitschke. "Companies can trim substantial time off of their fieldbus device development projects by employing the ITK Automation Tool during pre-registration testing."

The ITK Automation Tool is compatible with the Fieldbus Foundation's existing AT-420 ITK Interoperability Testing Kit, which includes the automation calls to toggle relays. Therefore, it can be immediately placed into service. Using the new tool, device developers can run continuous, unaccompanied ITK test schedules overnight. The ability to remove the human element during testing also ensures repeatable results.

The ITK Automation Tool incorporates relays to automatically switch power on/off, enable/disable the simulate jumper, and write protect jumper -- all triggered by existing test cases in the AT-420 ITK.

Requirements for use of the ITK Automation Tool include a licensed copy of the AT-420 Interoperability Testing Kit and a parallel port configuration.