Performance evaluation of WirelessHART for factory automation

• Published in: 2009 IEEE Conference on Emerging Technologies & Factory Automation pp. 1 - 9
• Main Authors: Petersen, S., Carlsen, S.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01.01.2009
• Subjects: Computer network reliability; Instruments; Manufacturing automation; Payloads; Physical layer; Robustness; Spread spectrum communication; Telecommunication network reliability; Wireless LAN; Wireless sensor networks
• ISBN: 9781424427277; 1424427274
• ISSN: 1946-0740
• DOI: 10.1109/ETFA.2009.5346996

The WirelessHART specification has given the industry access to their first open standard specifically aimed at wireless instrumentation for factory automation. For WirelessHART to be a viable solution for the process and automation industry, it has to provide a robust and reliable alternative to today's wired networks.This paper presents the results of a performance evaluation of a WirelessHART network deployed in an industrial environment. It also presents a performance analysis and deployment considerations for IEEE 802.11g coexistence. The conclusion of the paper is that a WirelessHART network is capable of reliable operation in an industrial environment, and when coexisting with three IEEE 802.11g networks.