Wireless Initiative for Discrete Manufacturing

Recognizing that discrete manufacturers have different requirements and a different approach to applying wireless technology in their plants as compared to their process industry counterparts, a group of manufacturers and wireless technology providers have formed an interest group under the auspices of ISA that seeks to develop a wireless standard for discrete applications, reports ARC Advisory Group. The effort is marked by strong solicitation of end user input, and an eagerness to head off the development of multiple standards and the inevitable conflicts that result.

The interest group, chaired by Mark O'Hearne from Millennial Net and Jim Reizner of Procter & Gamble, seeks to determine the interest level among industry end users concerning the development of a wireless standard for factory and discrete automation applications, in industries such as Consumer Goods, Electronics, Automotive, and Aerospace.

The group will focus on several applications for wireless, including assembly, batch, blending, packing, robotics, and plant floor data acquisition. Among the key considerations for discrete users are mobility, scalability, latency, and point density. On high-speed production lines, users demand fast transmission and response times, and need wireless support for a variety of sensors. For assembly robots that use wiring harnesses that can fail due to repetitive motion, users seek a wireless alternative.

User driven

While vendor input is welcome, the new interest group is placing a great emphasis on having users guide the development of a wireless discrete standard. By learning what the market requirements are sooner, rather than later, the hope is to develop a more workable standard, and wireless products that satisfy the unique requirements of discrete manufacturing.

Also, the development of a user-driven, rather than a vendor-driven standard will help avoid a wireless repeat of the fractious "fieldbus wars" of a decade ago, which resulted in multiple fieldbus communication protocols, each championed by different automation suppliers, says ARC.

To move the effort forward, the interest group has begun by initiating a fact-finding stage, soliciting user case studies that demonstrate applications for wireless technology in the discrete realm and identify specific challenges and problems faced by discrete users. Once enough information is collected, the interest group will make a proposal to ISA for promotion to a more formal study group, the first step to getting the actual standard development process underway.