Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Wireless Communication Standard Released I had a nagging feeling I was missing an announcement, and here it is. The long-awaited process device level wireless standard from Hart. The Hart Communication Foundation (HCF) has completed the draft specifications for WirelessHart Communication and their release to HCF member companies for review and approval. WirelessHart is the first open and interoperable wireless communication standard designed to address the critical needs of the process industry for reliable, robust and secure wireless communication in real world industrial plant applications. "The combination of Hart plus wireless is a major step for the industry. WirelessHart provides new capabilities for users to get information on process parameters and to monitor the performance of plant assets in areas that have previously been technically or cost-effectively difficult to achieve," says Ron Helson, HCF Executive Director. "WirelessHart ushers in the next major technology life cycle and makes possible the next generation of Hart-enabled productivity solutions." A backward compatible extension to the Hart Protocol, WirelessHart provides the same user experience, ease-of-use, flexibility and friendliness that users expect from HART-enabled products. WirelessHart complements, but will not replace wired Hart.   The WirelessHart specifications support the entire range of Hart-enabled measurement, control and automation systems products. Approved specifications will be available late summer with products expected early 2008. The standard incorporates security features to "ensure network integrity and meet the demands of process industry applications," according to HCF. 3:55:07 PM    comment []

Further Device Connectivity Convergence In the last piece of network-related news from Hannover, FDT Group and EDDL Cooperation Team reach agreement to develop a unified solution for device integration. The groups, previously having a contentious relationship, have reached agreement to combine efforts and work toward a unified solution for device integration that is compatible with both technologies. This would satisfy one of the most frequent customer requests say the groups. As part of this agreement, the FDT Group will join the ECT as its newest member.  FDT and ECT representatives agree to work together to finalize this solution and achieve a common framework that meets the requirements of all parties. Future developments will use a subset of the OPC UA technology within a client-server architecture. OPC is an open communication standard and OPC UA takes advantage of the latest Web programming standards. In addition, both parties have agreed to incorporate the advantages of FDT and EDDL technologies. In related news, the SP104 EDDL standards committee of the Instrumentation, Systems and Automation Society (ISA) has launched a Website that provides information about the standard and offers resources for learning more about EDDL technology. This is a great week for users of technology. 3:17:10 PM    comment []

Ethernet Implementation Guides Rockwell Automation and Cisco announced at the Hannover Messe they are working together on reference architectures, detailed design guidelines and education for the use of common networking technologies across the production and enterprise network. The intent is to address two industry challenges-greater efficiency and visibility. The validated, lab-tested architectures part of Cisco's "Ethernet to the Factory" solution, will enable the successful deployment of Ethernet-based production networks and secure integration with the rest of the enterprise. Mark Wylie, manager, business development at Cisco, and Joe Kann, Rockwell Automation vice president of global business development, told me that the companies had a joint team that interviewed many information technology executives and manufacturing engineering managers of customer companies about their manufacturing network needs expecting discussions of protocols and the like. Instead, the request was for more help with best practices for an architecture and help actually configuring a manufacturing network. 6:47:52 AM    comment []