Note: In this issue, we introduce an occasional editorial section where senior FieldComm Group staff will share insights and thoughts on the field communications industry.
While reviewing this issue of Field Communication Insider I couldn’t help but be struck by the amount of content devoted to WirelessHART. This issue’s end user feature is WirelessHART-related, and the HART-IP technology story outlines the benefits enabled when used with WirelessHART. And three new products from Awiatech, Emerson and Endress+Hauser use WirelessHART technology.
This month member company Awiatech becomes the third supplier of the WirelessHART development tools and embedded software. As a veteran of three wireless companies, I appreciate the work involved in creating a stack and wish them the best for their exciting new offering.
I did a bit of digging and discovered that there are now over 50 WirelessHART products or services listed in the FieldComm Group product registration site manufactured by 14 different suppliers. After checking out Emerson’s Smart Wireless page, I learned that Emerson has over 26,000 WirelessHART-based networks deployed globally with nearly six billion operating hours!
The process industries are not known as early adopters. But given the amazing uptake of WirelessHART in the market, and the tremendous buzz around the Industrial Internet of Things here in the states, and Industrie 4.0 in Europe, I can’t help but wonder if that reputation is ill founded.
