In November 2023, the Fraunhofer Institute in Lemgo accredited the world's first omlox test laboratory. This means that Lemgo meets all the technical and organisational requirements and has the expertise to test an omlox component for conformity with the standard. The PROFIBUS user organisation carried out the accreditation. Fraunhofer would like to use the future scientific findings of the test laboratory for the further technological development of the standard in order to sustainably strengthen Germany and Europe as technology centres.
“omlox” - this standard makes it possible for the first time to provide localisation information in production environments independently of technology and manufacturer. Various localisation technologies such as ultra-wideband radio (UWB for short, which is widely used in localisation systems due to its robustness), 5G, RFID, QR codes or GPS can be used together in an omlox system and with uniform interfaces.
The standard also ensures that omlox satellites (components of the localisation infrastructure in a building) can interact with omlox tags (devices that are localised via signals) regardless of the manufacturer. The PROFIBUS user organisation e.V. is responsible for the new technology standard.
New localisation standard?
Thanks to these features, omlox is regarded by experts as a pioneering localisation standard with key functions for the ongoing digitalisation of industry and logistics. Its broad range of applications addresses key challenges and creates future-relevant prospects for change for companies. The focus is on several key areas of application that contribute significantly to increasing efficiency and optimising industrial processes:
- tracking of products, tools, orders, vehicles and people
- automatic booking and documentation of process progress
- location-based information and control
- autonomous transport
- safety-related applications
The function and interfaces of a manufacturer-independent technology such as omlox are described by standards. To ensure that the components (hardware and software) from different manufacturers work together in a system, the components must be implemented exactly in accordance with the standards.
If this is the case, this is referred to as conformity. This requires testing in order to guarantee high system quality and usability for users. This conformity is now being tested and confirmed in the world's first test laboratory so that components can receive omlox certification.
The Fraunhofer experts are also actively involved in the further development of the standard in the omlox committees:
- Contributing to the development of test specifications
- Carrying out interoperability tests
- Analyses of positioning accuracy
- Implementing and analysing use cases
They also research new approaches such as the realisation of applications with functional safety requirements or the localisation of people and assets with video systems and sensor ceilings.
