Status: Industrial wireless standard progresses; attend next meeting

Houston, TX – Here’s a look at where a standard for industrial wireless has been and where it’s going. If you’re interested in participating, an upcoming opportunity for helping industrial wireless efforts is the meeting in Chongqing, China, and a call prior to then. Those interested in participating are asked to contact Mark O’Hearne to indicate their attendance at the call and to express interest in (1) participating in the Study Group, (2) volunteering to chair or co-chair the Group, (3) adding to the call minutes, (4) attending the Chongqing meeting, and (5) availability for the call on March 28.The scheduled Integration Work Group (IWG) meeting is March 21, 2008, 11 a.m. Eastern Time U.S.; 5 p.m. Central Time Europe. U.S./Canada Dial-In: (866) 332-6857; International Dial-In Number: (770) 790-2259; Conference Code: 9909227#. There is no leader for these calls; after the system asks, it will pause, and then resume. Mark O’Hearne and Cliff Whitehead will present.ISA100 Factory/Discrete Automation Interest Group recommends to the IWG that the ISA100 group be elevated to a study group status because:–There is a critical mass of participation and active solicitation of new members (e.g., ARC Forum/ISA100.11a meeting);–Participants have expressed the desire to begin work on Requirements Gathering and Use Case development; and–Participants have expressed the need for greater structure and a definition of work product(s) to focus discussions and further discovery – both elements a Study Group can offer. Need to catch up on related ISA100 wireless efforts? Here’s some play by play. Last October’s ISA100 meeting in Houston discussed where ISA100 networks may be applied in different physical environments. An Interest Group was formed to reach out to all interested parties. It sought the interest level in the industry around the possible development of a standard for a wireless factory/discrete automation system. The purpose was to serve hybrid and discrete industries (such as consumer goods, electronics, automotive, aerospace, and other industries). In contrast to environments driving the ISA100.11a (release 1) and other emerging Interest Groups, this Group will consider assembly, batch, blending, packing, robotics, shop floor data collection, and other applications, which are likely to drive different demands for mobility, scalability, point density, and lower latency.Leadership of the ISA100 Factory/Discrete Interest Group recommended nomination of co-chairs for the Study Group with a bias towards end-user chairmanship. Upon formation, the proposed ISA100 Factory/Discrete Study Group will define vision, scope, goals (work products), impact on ISA100, and timeline, with the date to be determined via a meeting/teleconference. The Interest Group voted unanimously to bring this recommendation to the IWG.Later, the ISA100 Interest Group discussed discrete and hybrid manufacturing, according to the minutes of the March 7, 2008, meeting, where a presentation for IWG was reviewed. Mark O’Hearne summarized minutes of the last call from February 15 and follow-up activities. During that call volunteers agreed to develop a presentation recommending the formation of a Study Group for the IWG teleconference March 21. It was requested that the Interest Group/Study Group have one-hour during the ISA100 meeting in Chongqing, China (April 1-4).The draft presentation was sent to the Interest Group distribution list prior to the call. During the call, it was reviewed and modified. Via email, interested parties were asked to correct, if necessary, the reference to their company in the slide listing the Interest Group participants.Candidates to co-chair the Study Group included Jim Reizner (P&G), although another candidate from P&G may take this on. Cliff Whitehead (Rockwell) has also stepped forward to lead the study Group. The role of chair is to facilitate and report on the progress of the Group.Related Control Engineering coverage to date includes:

ISA Wireless Interest Group seeks input: Have some?

ISA in the factory: Wireless networks, automation interest group meets

Wireless analysis: Avoiding the mistakes of history? It was noted that the Study Group should have a liaison with ISA99 efforts. An ISA99 meeting (West Palm Beach, June 3-5) will invite liaisons from other Groups.– Control Engineering News Desk Register here and scroll down to select your choice of eNewsletters free .

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