What is the ESPA-X Community?
The ESPA-X Community is (for the time being) an open community of interest between a wide range of different companies that all support the ESPA-X protocol in some shape or form (e.g. as a manufacturer of alarm servers, BCM systems, nurse call systems, or as a consulting firm).
The tetronik GmbH, manufacturer of the alarm and communications server DAKS and original co-developer of the ESPA-X protocol, currently hosts and maintains the ESPA-X Community website and acts as the first point of contact for new interested parties.
How do I become a member of the ESPA-X Community?
The process is very simple and completely free for any interested company. To gain access to the ESPA-X Community, all we need from you is the following:
- a short description of your planned ESPA-X based solution,
- your (informal) permission that we may publish your company name and details on the ESPA-X website,
- a contact person within your company (name, function, and contact data) for all questions related to ESPA-X, as well as
- your company logo ideally as a vector graphic or as a high-resolution pixel graphic (e.g. JPG or PNG).
Please send all of these information and data to info@espa-x.org.
Where do I get the ESPA-X protocol description?
The general protocol description is available upon request to any interested party.
However, all DAKS-specific ESPA-X information (i.e. the ESPA-X interpretation by DAKS as well as DAKS-specific ESPA-X extensions) is reserved for those interested parties who plan on creating a direct connection to DAKS.
The pertaining additional documentation will only be given after an official introduction (see below) and after the signing of an NDA.
What is the recommended procedure for the development of a new ESPA-X interface?
First of all, we strongly recommend you become a member of the ESPA-X Community (see above).
As a newcomer, the tetronik GmbH offers you a free 1/2-day introductory course at their headquarters, before you begin development of the first ESPA-X interface for your system.
Is there any simulation software that I can use to test my interface?
Yes, there is. The training on the available tools (simulators) for an efficient interface development is part of the ESPA-X introductory course (see above). The simulation software will be made available to all attending developers after the course.
Should I have my ESPA-X interface certified?
Yes, you should. Especially if the ESPA-X interface is meant to be used with a safety-relevant system (such as a DAKS alarm server), there should, at the very least, be performed a connection test using both systems that are to be connected, before the first connection is done at the customer.
The tetronik GmbH offers to all companies that have developed an ESPA-X interface with DAKS to perform (for a charge) a certification test at their ESPA-X test laboratory, either on site at the tetronik GmbH headquarters in Taunusstein or via remote, issuing certification upon successful conclusion of the tests.
