Yokogawa Promotes Industrial Wireless Communications Standard

Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces that it is promoting efforts to develop the ISA100.11a wireless communication standard for the process automation (PA) industry. Based on this standard, Yokogawa will develop a new field digital network platform that will enhance productivity by eliminating the difficulties users currently face with incompatible wireless communication protocols and making possible the systematic integration of wired and wireless technologies.

Yokogawa says it is supporting development of the ISA100.11a standard because it has high reliability, is based on IPv6 and can accommodate larger networks, offers excellent compatibility with existing instrumented systems that use non-wireless protocols such as FOUNDATION fieldbus, HART, PROFIBUS, and Modbus.

As a member of the ISA100 Standards Committee on Wireless Systems for Automation, Yokogawa will engage in a wide range of activities to promote development of the ISA100.11a international standard. Yokogawa will also strengthen its expertise in field installations by conducting product testing in the field and proposing wireless applications. In addition, Yokogawa will develop systems products and field devices that comply with this standard, and plans to release them in the first half of fiscal 2010.