ETSI factory automation under scrutiny

ETSI has launched a Wireless Factory Starter Group, aimed at identifying standardisation needs and opportunities in the expanding domain of wireless factory automation.

The group's first meeting was due to take place in October in ETSI's premises at Sophia Antipolis, southern France. This meeting was expected to result in commitments from its participants to collaborate in the development of new standards for WIFA.

The use of wireless technologies in the factory and the supply chain is not new. Applications have existed in one form or another for the past couple of decades. These early implementations have taken the form of isolated applications that have delivered one particular function or ability.

Many factories operate with a number of parallel wireless systems, eg, providing two-way radio, pager networks, etc.

However, more recent advances in wireless technology mean that, rather than users acquiring individual solutions, a wireless LAN backbone can provide access to diverse applications and data through one infrastructure.

In other words, manufacturers can move from individual to architectural solutions in the factory itself.

Much remains to be done on wireless systems and corresponding standards to satisfy the necessary balance of requirements for field devices in terms of latency, data rate, communication reliability, power consumption and also node density and range.

In addition, sensor networks using technologies such as RFID and machine to machine communications have entered the factory automation picture.

These bring a potential for extensive rationalisation and cost savings but also pose a variety of integration, synchronisation and interworking/interoperability issues.

Because of this diversity and rapid innovation, users of wireless factory automation solutions can find this complex balancing exercise very daunting. In addition, they are often bombarded with conflicting and confusing claims from a range of sources.

It is widely acknowledged that technical standards, especially those produced by a neutral organisation such as ETSI, can offer clarity and stability. By bringing together the various experts to create the standards, a better mutual understanding of needs and capabilities can be achieved.

In addition, as the standardisation work gets underway, complementary ETSI services - notably interoperability testing and conformance testing - will also be brought onstream to ensure the quality of the results.