Rockwell Automation and Cisco Systems said they will release new reference architectures for wireless industrial Ethernet on the factory floor, at the Rockwell Automation Fair in the United States this week.
The new ‘Wireless to the Factory Floor’ is currently being tested on Wireless-N (IEEE 802.11n) technology, with the two vendors testing if it offers the performance needed for industrial tasks, according to a report from online publication, Design News.
The article said the new reference architectures will consist of detailed application design guidelines, best implementation practices and information on the best way to integrate wireless and wired networks together.
Rockwell Automation and Cisco Systems have already designed an industrial Ethernet architecture for wired networks, called Ethernet to the Factory.
“You see a lot of reference architectures in the world electronics design,” Rockwell’s Automation Control and Information Group commercial programs manager, Steve Ludwig, said in the report.
“But in the past there hasn’t been anything like this for manufacturing.”
The new wireless reference architectures are scheduled for release in 2009.