18 October 2006

HART talks wireless

One of HART’s key challenges is “getting industry out of the box they’ve been in with respect to HART being part-time, and recognizing the value of integrated systems and what they can do for the plant,” said Ron Helson, HART Communication Foundation executive director. The key message of a press conference held Tuesday was HART technology will keep plants competitive, especially with wireless. “HART is moving from traditional part-time with handheld communicators, into a full-time field communication technology with advance capabilities,” Helson said. “Integrated systems make it possible to achieve our objectives.”

HART officially launched its wireless program in March 2005 with the objective to produce a wireless communication standard for process measurement and control applications. It wants to do this adhering to fundamental principles, such as low cost connectivity, “making sure we have products that work with all major suppliers,” Helson said. “We want to protect the investment of users and suppliers. The key guiding principle is to maintain compatibility.”

To do this, HART developed the same application layer as on wired. Systems that can be easily upgraded to have direct HART capability over wire will provide key uses to industry to help them get access to information with a direct path to device management applications. “When it can’t take the preferred path over wire, this will provide new solutions to help users get information,” he said.

It will also bring a new class of devices. All communication with those devices will be wireless. “Our objective is to make sure these devices seamlessly integrate with the same applications that wired HART devices do today,” he said. “We’ll see these wireless devices will enable new applications and be a big step to help users optimize resources in their plant.” It is important to remember HART wireless will compliment wired HART, not replace it, Helson said.

Another focus area is enhanced EDDL, a key technology that helps provide a standard interface for device manufacturing. It will work on all host systems. “Users are looking for not more data, but more information,” Helson said. “This is a key technology that’s easily used by plant operators.”

For related information, go to www.isa.org/networks.