Addressing Fieldbus Transducer Blocks for ISA100 Wireless Devices

Fieldbus Foundation continues support of ISA100.11a

Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA (19 Sept 2013) –The ISA100 Wireless Compliance Institute announced today that the Fieldbus Foundation recently issued a preliminary specification for transducer blocks supporting ISA100.11a wireless devices. The  specification issued in August demonstrates the commitment of the growing number of organizations supporting the ISA100 Wireless standard. Developed by the International Society of Automation (ISA), ISA100.11a is an international, industrial wireless networking standard built to serve the needs of process industries.

According to the Fieldbus Foundation news, “As part of the FOUNDATION for Remote Operations Management (ROM) solution implementing wireless and remote I/O, the new technical specification defines a fieldbus transducer block used within FOUNDATION for ROM devices to communicate with ISA100.11a instruments. In addition, it describes the method for configuring tools and asset-managing hosts to access ISA100.11a devices, as well as structures to identify and maintain device status in ISA100.11a networks connected to FOUNDATION for ROM devices. The new transducer block specification will enable automation end users to interface ISA100.11a devices to FOUNDATION fieldbus for better integration with a control system or with FOUNDATION devices. The technology also supports a networked method for asset-managing hosts to access an installed base of ISA100.11a devices for configuration and maintenance purposes.”

“The recent announcement and development by the Fieldbus Foundation further validates the object-based approach of ISA100 Wireless,” said Andre Ristaino, Managing Director, ISA100 WCI. “We are thrilled to see the specification released. Users will benefit from the added integration between ISA100 Wireless and Fieldbus Foundation technology.”

Access to the Foundation technical specifications is a key benefit of the Fieldbus Foundation membership and a review of the preliminary specification is available for free by Foundation members.  See the Preliminary Specifications area of Fieldbus Forums.

[an error occurred while processing this directive] About ISA100 Wireless
ISA100 Wireless is an international, industrial wireless networking standard built to serve the needs of process industries. From its diverse product portfolio, users can select best-of-breed devices from a large pool of suppliers that the ISA100 Wireless Compliant™ program guarantees to be interoperable. With ISA100 Wireless, automation engineers can quickly create, modify, optimize, and scale wireless networks that are open, interoperable, and reliable for their most critical applications.  ISA100 Wireless is the first standard in the ISA100 family of open standards.

The ISA100 Wireless standard received ISA committee approval in 2011 and formal ANSI approval in January 2012.  Headed toward internationalization, the formal standard, ANSI/ISA-100.11a-2011, was accepted as new work in IEC SC65C and as a Publicly Available Specification (PAS), IEC 62734, in 2011.

About the ISA100 Wireless Compliance Institute
The ISA100 Wireless Compliance Institute (ISA100 WCI) is a non-profit industry organization that provides users and developers with market awareness, educational information, technical support, and compliance testing for the ISA100 family of standards. And ISA100 WCI provides real-world feedback from the deployment of ISA100 Wireless devices and systems to ISA Standards Committees, fostering rapid refinement to the standards.

More information about the ISA100 Wireless Compliance Institute can be found online at www.isa100wci.org.