As we reach the quarter century, rather than look forward, we instead look back at the wireless advances that affected us since the Y2K fears that accompanied us into the 21st century. As the century began, 3G and code-division, multiple-access (CDMA) networks emerged, with 4G and LTE to follow about a decade later. Then, the first 5G arrived about 2015. The 3G journey is nearing its end, and will likely fully retire this year.
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Similarly, wireless local area network (WLAN) technology, defined by the IEEE 802.11 standards, debuted 802.11a (11 Mb/s) in 1999, and 802.11g (54 Mb/s) launched in 2003. Today, 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7, 23,000 Mb/s) is just rolling out. Industrial, wireless, sensor technologies follow a similar path, but with fewer revisions:
- Zigbee began in 2000 with the first specification released by the Zigbee Alliance (Connectivity Standards Alliance 2021). Meanwhile, Matter was introduced in 2004, and Zigbee 3.0 arrived in 2014. Zigbee Pro 2023, the most recent release, adds cybersecurity.
- Bluetooth followed a similar development timeline with the Bluetooth Special Interest Group formed in 1998. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) arrived in 2014, followed by Bluetooth mesh in 2014 and Bluetooth 5.0 in 2017.
- WirelessHART released of its standard in 2007, which was approved as IEC 62591 in 2010.
Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E, which can use the 6 GHz spectrum band to Wi-Fi, is available in 54 countries, and provides several deterministic quality-of-service (QoS) capabilities, such as traffic prioritization that’s a key component of time-sensitive networking (TSN) for Industry 4.0 applications. Wi-Fi 6 TSN supports applications requiring latencies of 2 msec or less, such as remote control of industrial robots and material handlers. Wi-Fi 6/6E/7 networks can meet demanding requirements such as sub-20 msec latency, sub-1 msec jitter, 99.999% uptime, and throughput in the tens of megabits.
Another example of using wireless for mission-critical applications is railroads’ communication-based control systems (CBTC) for metro lines, including autonomous train systems. These proven examples of how state-of-the-art wireless solutions reached new heights of reliability.
There’s also a general trend in wireless toward hybrid networks with mesh-based networking becoming the more commonly used base configuration instead of star topologies.
Wireless is a key enabler for digitization, including aiding IoT, because it can connect remote, mobile and difficult to access applications. Wireless lets users run their operations more efficiently, increase productivity, reconfigure more easily, and reduce costs.
Other trends driving industrial wireless include:
- Integration with other technologies, such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and edge computing;
- Improved security measures to protect sensitive data;
- Lower power consumption that enables longer battery life and reduced maintenance; and
- Integration with advanced analytics, such as leveraging data for predictive maintenance and process optimization.
All of these improvements will, of course, take time. One thing I’ve seen in my time with industrial networks is it takes about 10 years from when a technology enters the market until it’s adopted and incorporated into normal engineering practices—at least in the process industries. This was certainly the case for HART, fieldbus protocols and wireless sensor networks, and appears to be true for the now-emerging Open Process Automation Standard (O-PAS), 5G and Ethernet Advanced Physical Layer (APL).
When you look back, it’s pretty amazing that wireless has gone from almost nothing to a key technology in our everyday lives (look up at everyone on their handheld devices for proof), so it will be interesting to see how as 5G and APL start their journeys into the industrial sector, what will happen in the next 25 years—or even the next decade. Of course, other technologies such as quantum computing, generative AI, Wi-Fi-6, and 6G+ will also have a role in our future, as will the impact of other initiatives, such as meeting global greenhouse gas (GHG) targets, employing renewable and nuclear energy, including the potential for fission energy. One thing is certain, it will be an interesting time, so hold on and enjoy the ride, or better yet contribute to it yourself.
