This standardized mapping needs to be harmonized with the ETG (Ethercat) and EPSG (Powerlink) associations. Beginning of 2016, CiA will establish a joint task force with the OPC Foundation to work on the CANopen compendium for OPC UA.

OPC UA can be regarded as a middle-ware to be used for Industry 4.0 or Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions. It provides communication technology independent services. It is the link between real-time networks such as CANopen or the upcoming CANopen FD and the IT world (e.g. Web and Cloud services). OPC UA is intended to be used for configuration and diagnostics purposes. Normally, it will be implemented in host controllers. Additionally, it may be implemented in HMI (human machine interface) devices.

CiA and OPC Foundation need to sign a Memorandum of Understanding, before the JTF (joint task force) OPC UA mapping to CANopen can be inaugurated. A first face-to-face meeting has been already scheduled for beginning of March. It is planned to have a stable compendium work draft by end of 2016. At least at SPS IPC Drives 2017, the OPC UA mapping for CANopen should by finalized. This document should comprise a mapping of the OPC UA data model to the CANopen object dictionary in general and to the CANopen communication services. Mappings to Ethercat and Powerlink communication services based on the mentioned general mapping will be specified by the corresponding associations, ETG and EPSG, in co-operation with the OPC Foundation. However, the mapping to CANopen profiles such as CiA 401 and CiA 402 are in the scope of the JTF.