Substantial growth predicted for wireless in automation

Wellingborough, England —Wireless communication in automation will grow substantially over the next five years, a recent report from IMS research predicts. The world market for this technology is forecast to grow at an average of 28.1% a year between now and 2009. Although wireless communications are not widely used in the automation environment now, the study said, a proliferation of new products is being introduced currently.

Said John Morse, IMS senior market analyst, “Of the three market regions covered in the report, Asia-Pacific is projected to grow at a rate higher than either the EMEA (Europe, Middle-East, Africa) region or the Americas. This is true for most of the seven product sectors considered for the report.”

The study surveyed manufacturers and end users. It concluded that there is a strong requirement for wireless communications in industry, but that growth is forecast to be limited to certain applications, including monitoring, data collection, and programming.”Although high growth is forecast,” continued Morse, “progress will be restricted by concerns over the reliability and security of wireless communications. There will have to be a considerable period of confidence-building before wireless is commonly used for applications where there are safety issues.”

— Control Engineering Daily News Desk Jeanine Katzel , senior editor

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