A number of global process automation companies announced their commitment to the WirelessHART standard, and said that they would be releasing more products using WirelessHART in the New Year, at the HART Communication Foundation press conference at the ISA EXPO 2009.
Representatives from ABB, Emerson Process Management, Endress+Hauser, Pepperl+Fuchs and Siemens all said that WirelessHART technology is having a dynamic influence on the process industry; they also said that they expect more adoption from end users in 2010.
According to ABB Automation global wireless product manager, Gareth Johnson, ABB sees the HART 7 specification as the lates chapter in the evolution of HART, which includes the WirelessHART element, and is expected to widen the application of HART solutions.
ABB plans to implement HART 7 functionality in many of its measurement products, including; pressure, flow, temperature and analytical. The company expects HART 7 with WirelessHART will be adopted in the process industry and plans to release HART 7 WirelessHART devices in 2010.
According to Emerson Process Management president pressure/CPS business unit, Mark Schumacher, end users have embraced the value of the HART Communication Protocol, which attest to the success of the standard to meet the unique demands of the process industry. WirelessHART extends this value to areas where it wasn’t possible before, and many customers are experiencing significant benefits, Schumacher said.
Emerson has introduced 15 WirelessHART products so far — most recently, the Smart Wireless THUM Adapter, wireless position monitor, and contacting conductivity transmitter — and is committed to releasing many more products in the New Year.
Endress+Hauser corporate director projects and solutions, Frank Hils, said that WirelessHART enjoys broad support in the process industry already. Endress+Hauser sees the standard as an enabler primarily for applications in process monitoring and asset management including predictive maintenance and inventory management of bulk material.
According to Hils, WirelessHART will not only open up new applications which could not be solved with HART on wires efficiently, but it will also allow many existing installations to benefit from the upgrade to WirelessHART technology.
Endress+Hauser has started to deliver WirelessHART technology, consulting, hardware and software alongside instrumentation for level, pressure, flow, analytical and temperature measurement in 2010.
Pepperl+Fuchs director business unit components + technology, Mark Kessler, said that HART has been around for 20 years and continues to enjoy market growth in a multitude of applications and industries. According to Kessler, it is a proven technology in many installations around the world and is integrated in HART capable multi-variable field devices from Pepperl+Fuchs including CorrTran MV, HART Multiplexers and HART Loop Converters.
HART 7 including WirelessHART will open up new applications for many users and as a market leader in open infrastructure for field communication, Pepperl+Fuchs is committed to providing users with a wide range of communication options including Wireless HART, the company believes.
According to Siemens division president for sensors and communication, Hans-Georg Kumpfmüller, Siemens is realising a growing number of HART installations in the field. HART 7 is the next step in this story, opening a new door to the wireless world with WirelessHART, he said.
Siemens expects that HART 7 is well accepted in the process industry. The company will use HART 7 in all technologies of field instrumentation.
HART Communication Foundation executive director, Ron Helson, said that WirelessHART technology is simple, reliable and secure. According to Helson, it provides the same experience that users know and expect from HART-enabled products, preserving their investment in HART-enabled devices, tools, training, applications and work procedures.
WirelessHART is easy to use, easy to deploy, and fully backward compatible with existing instrumentation and host systems, according to Helson. It also addresses the issues users face in the process plant environment and seamlessly integrates existing devices into HART-enabled systems, he said.