METS tp Feature NMEA 2000 ConnectFest Demonstration

From Professional Mariner:

(11/7/2011)

Marine electronics from different manufacturers communicate seamlessly on the network The NMEA 2000® open industry networking standard will be demonstrated live at a free ConnectFest event on November 16, 2011, at the Marine Electronics Trade Show (METS) in Amsterdam. Dates for METS are Tuesday, November 15, through Thursday, November 17. An open plug-and-play system, NMEA 2000® allows devices to be added to or subtracted from a network with no down time. The METS ConnectFest in Room D201 will be an all-day event, from 10.00 to 15.30 hours. A number of diverse manufacturers will be interacting and demonstrating the interoperability of various products in a network environment. The demonstration provides an opportunity to have direct conversations with manufacturers who have adopted and developed products using the NMEA 2000® protocol. New developments in power distribution and alarms will be demonstrated. The NMEA 2000® marine open network standard was developed by companies both within the industry and outside it. More than 40 marine organizations invested time and resources to create NMEA 2000®, which is based on CAN (Controller Area Network). Other experts, including Kvaser AB, Oklahoma State University, Sun Microsystems, and the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center, contributed their expertise under the guidance of NMEA. Today, NMEA 2000® is maintained by the industry's global NMEA 2000® Technical Standards Committee, with more than 100 companies worldwide participating. In addition to demonstrations, the NMEA ConnectFest will provide answers to questions related to costs, installation, configurability, and scalability. Among matters discussed will be the need for all products on the NMEA 2000® network to be NMEA 2000®-certified. The NMEA 2000® protocol requires that its products and messages have certain priorities built in for ensuring safety on the sea. Only products certified for NMEA 2000® use can communicate with each other. ConnectFest will also provide hands-on experience with the NMEA 2000® cable and connector system, designed to save weight and installation time and ensuring future connectivity for products on a vessel. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has adopted NMEA 2000® as a network standard for the use on SOLAS class vessels with its standard 61162-3. Lloyd's register has accepted the NMEA 2000® cable and connectors. A 30-minute presentation on the history, structure, and benefits of NMEA 2000® is scheduled for 10.00, 13.00, and 15.00 hours on the day of ConnectFest.