NIST FORMS TEAM TO TACKLE INSPECTION SOFTWARE PROBLEMS.Automating the process of product inspection during manufacturing should cut product development cycle time and manufacturing costs. However, the wide variety of inspection software and hardware products on the market may make it difficult to achieve full benefit from an automated au·to·mate v. au·to·mat·ed, au·to·mat·ing, au·to·mates v.tr. 1. To convert to automatic operation: automate a factory. 2. process. Common interfaces may be non-existent, measurement programs may require retooling to make them compatible with new or added software packages, and training for multiple operator interfaces adds to production costs and delays inspections. Last month, NIST (National Institute of Standards & Technology, Washington, DC, www.nist.gov) The standards-defining agency of the U.S. government, formerly the National Bureau of Standards. It is one of three agencies that fall under the Technology Administration (www.technology. joined manufacturers and information technology vendors in an effort to overcome software interface barriers for automated dimensional measurement. The new group, known as the Metrology metrology Science of measurement. Measuring a quantity means establishing its ratio to another fixed quantity of the same kind, known as the unit of that kind of quantity. Interoperability The capability of two or more hardware devices or two or more software routines to work harmoniously together. For example, in an Ethernet network, display adapters, hubs, switches and routers from different vendors must conform to the Ethernet standard and interoperate with each other. Consortium, will be developing and testing interoperability standards for the hardware and software components used. The consortium's 3 year action plan includes: cataloguing gaps in current standards; evaluating current and developing standards for particular interfaces to determine which ones deserve support; identifying and assisting in harmonization har·mo·nize v. har·mo·nized, har·mo·niz·ing, har·mo·niz·es v.tr. 1. To bring or come into agreement or harmony. See Synonyms at agree. 2. Music To provide harmony for (a melody). of competing or overlapping standards; developing specifications for interfaces where no satisfactory non-proprietary standard exists; and assembling consensus user requirements to provide as input to standards developing organizations. Finally, consortium members will develop and perform conformance con·for·mance n. Conformity. Noun 1. conformance - correspondence in form or appearance conformity agreement, correspondence - compatibility of observations; "there was no agreement between theory and and interoperability tests for software that incorporates the standards. Projects that require testing will be carried out using a National Metrology Testbed that consists of equipment and software owned and operated by the participants at their own sites. NIST will develop procedures and tools for conformance and interoperability testing. Membership in the Metrology Interoperability Consortium is open to users, vendors and third party organizations. |
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