Managing Automation - December 2007 - (Page 6) david r. brousell/EIC TAKE 1 It would be easy to be skeptical, even cynical, about wireless communications. After all, who hasn’t experienced a dropped cell phone call or been unable to get Internet access from a hotel room? It says something when carriers compete on the basis of fewest dropped calls: It is not a question of whether calls will be lost; it is only a question of how many. For some, that may add up to a sad state of affairs for wireless. Despite promises of greater mobility and lower cost compared with physical wiring, wireless technology’s reliability issues have created a risk profile that many manufacturers may be reluctant to bet on. But before you walk away from the wireless table, you might want to note a number of developments that offer hope that wireless technology does indeed have an important future in manufacturing, a future that is secure, reliable, and provides compelling advantages for manufacturers determined to create more agile, faster, and more transparent businesses. The first is the widespread recognition that the underlying technology infrastructure that is supposed to support wireless technology is in serious need of unification. Currently, a mixed bag of technologies — cellular towers, WiFi, WiMAX, wireless Ethernet, sensor-based networks, and multiple bands of radio waves — supports a wide variety of early applications in asset management, location tracking, and remote diagnosis of equipment. While it is unlikely that one overarching infrastructure will emerge for all to use, technology vendors such as Nortel, Microsoft, and Motorola are working on developing simplified ways to integrate the various networks. Nortel, for example, is working on what it calls The Unwired Enterprise, which envisions integrating networks without du2007 Wireless: AWork in Progress Dbrousell@thomaspublishing.com Infrastructure and reliability issues have created obstacles to widespread deployment of wireless networks in manufacturing, but help is on the way. plicating security and management, and seamless mobility that incorporates workflows regardless of whether the network is an indoor WLAN, mesh network, or outdoor broadband network. The second major area of activity — and one to watch closely — is at the standards and protocol level. As MA has reported in recent months, the HART Communication Foundation is working on wireless HART — part of the recently released version 7 of the HART communication protocol for process manufacturers — which, among other things, will let network managers monitor the performance of wireless networks and judge the quality of data carried over those networks, two crucial measures of viability. At the same time, the ISA is developing its 100.11a protocol, also known as SP100, that will support HART, Profibus, and Fieldbus Foundation devices in both discrete and process manufacturing environments. In early October, following meetings at ISA EXPO in Houston, the ISA100 Wireless Systems for Automation standards committee said it had outlined an approach to eventually integrate the wireless HART protocol with SP100. This development will give hope to manufacturers that the two groups, which earlier seemed at odds over wireless protocols, will cooperate to advance the prospects of wireless in manufacturing. The vision of the wireless mobile manufacturing enterprise is not a fully tangible reality yet, but the direction we are heading in is inexorable. Now, it is a question of how we get there. As new products and services roll out over the next couple of years, the next phase of implementation will be upon us. What’s your view of wireless? Write to me at Dbrousell@thomaspublishing.com. ■ maonline managingautomation.com For more of David R. Brousell’s views, visit: ❏ Gap Theory www.managingautomation .com/takeone41 ❏ Oracle vs. SAP www.managingautomation .com/takeone40 ❏ Blocking and Tackling www.managingautomation .com/takeone39 ma 6 December Photo: Peter Kolk http://managingautomation.com http://www.managingautomation.com/takeone41 http://www.managingautomation.com/takeone40 http://www.managingautomation.com/takeone39
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