Managing Automation - September 2008 - (Page 44)

[ SPECIAL REPORT ] WIRELESS IN MANUFACTURING – PART 1 to do the integration themselves or have a service provider do it. For example, you might have to rig up a way to connect your mesh sensor network with your wireless data network in order to feed that information into your dashboards for KPI measurement. For technology executives, the array of choices can be intimidating. For one thing, there is a major distinction between the mostly WiFi-based infrastructure used today for mobile information workers and wireless for the factory floor. The reliability and security requirements of factory floor wireless are much greater than those of the office. Plus, device battery life can be an issue in geographically dispersed industrial settings. In the industrial world, low-power mesh technology has long been used to connect sensors without wires; now, these two worlds are coming together with mesh networks connected via WiFi access points. This arrangement allows enough power for conventional data transmission — as opposed to low-bandwidth sensor data — but at a lower cost than WiFi alone. NO CLEAR INFRASTRUCTURE WINNER The promise of a unified standard for wireless has not materialized yet. In the meantime, with a little help, companies can knit together a solid wireless infrastructure for their manufacturing enterprise. B Y L AU R E N G I B B O N S PAU L he wireless manufacturing era has dawned. Freed from the yoke of wires, applications in production, asset management, field management, and safety are thriving alongside wireless office applications. But for anyone who wished for a clear victor in the mix of wireless infrastructure standards competing for dominance, there’s bad news. Despite the emergence of standards such as ISA100 for process industries, a unified wireless infrastructure for all types of manufacturing isn’t happening any time soon (see sidebar, T keeping this page). Manufacturers that want to take advantage of emerging wireless applications must cope with a variety of wireless infrastructure platforms, from cellular, to wireless LAN, to WiMAX. But there’s good news. Despite the heterogeneity of the wireless environment, manufacturers can knit together a solid wireless infrastructure without much difficulty, likely with the help of a vendor or service provider. “There is still a lot of ambiguity” surrounding wireless standards, says Ric Hall, systems architect and distinguished systems engineer for network architecture, EDS Global Network Engineering. Sometimes called “follow-me connectivity” or “session continuity”— seamless wireless WIRELESS STANDARDS: connectivity that spans protocols, DIFFERENT FLAVORS carriers, geographical boundaries, ● Wireless personal-area networks (PANs): These and applications — is still not readstandards are for wireless connectivity in the area immediately surrounding the device. Bluetooth and ily available. Zigbee are two examples. “[Wireless] needs to take you ● Wireless local-area networks (LANs): The most from home, to car, to the plant floor, common WLAN protocol is 802.11 (aka WiFi) and to the desktop — everywhere from its variants. WLANs cover distances up to about wireless, to wireline, and back 300 feet. WiFi access points are also being used to again,” Hall says. Ideally, wireless connect low-power wireless mesh networks. devices would be able to leverage ● Wireless metropolitan-area networks (MANs): whatever type of connectivity is This protocol typically covers distances of several available at the time, but that is not miles. WiMAX is one type of MAN standard. yet the case. “Cellular, wireless ● Wireless wide-area networks (WANs): Powered by LAN, WiMAX — the pieces of the cell tower or satellite, WWANs cover geographic puzzle are there, but the connecdistances of several miles up to about 20 miles. Here, there is a war for dominance between CDMA tive tissue that pulls them all to(Code Division Multiple Access, a cellular standard gether and makes them useful, used by U.S. carriers) and GSM (Global System for that’s the hard part of the solution.” Mobile Communications, used by carriers outside To cover the gaps in wireless North America). access, manufacturers may have ISA100: Big News for Process Industries track S ome manufacturers may soon be able to rely on a wireless standard that addresses issues such as interoperability among different wireless platforms. The ISA standards body has created the ISA100 standard (formerly SP-100) for manufacturers in process industries such as chemicals and oil & gas. ISA100 is a standard for wireless communication of field devices that brings together a range of technologies under one secure roof, according to Hesh Kagan, managing consultant at Invensys Process Systems and past president of the Wireless Industrial Network Alliance. “As existing wired fieldbus protocols move toward wireless implementations, it becomes imperative that a quality and security standard be developed,” Kagan says. ISA100 addresses industrial wireless communications, including how interoperability, coexistence, and robustness are managed. ISA100-compliant products will ship next year, he adds. The ISA100 Wireless Compliance Institute will issue product certifications. ma September 44 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managing Automation - September 2008

Managing Automation - September 2008 Contents Take 1 Letters Tech Vendors Defy Economic Slump by Plugging into Developing World Growth New E2open Chief Outlines Plan to Accelerate Growth Is This Marketing as It Used to Be or Something New? The OMAC Group Attempts to Widen Its Influence Automation Federation Names Chief, Plots Growth Notes Cover story: The Innovation Gap Special Report: Meet the Progressive Manufacturing High Achievers Progressive Manufacturer of the Year Business Model Mastery Innovation Mastery Customer Mastery Supply Network Mastery Data & Integration Mastery Education & Training Mastery Leadership Mastery Operational Excellence Mastery Special Report: Catching the Wireless Wave Part 1: No Clear Infrastructure Winner Part 2: Wireless Apps Take Wing Part 3: The Human Side of Wireless Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

Managing Automation - September 2008

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