EtherCAT (Ethernet for Control Automation Technology) is an emerging real-time industrial Ethernet standard for industrial automation applications, such as input/output (I/O) devices, sensors and programmable logic controllers (PLCs). It was originally developed by Beckhoff Automation GmbH but is now overseen by the EtherCAT Technology Group that was set up to help with proliferation of the EtherCAT standard. Today, there are over 1,900 member companies from 52 countries that create and deploy EtherCAT-compatible products.