Keywords: Wireless Networks, Wireless Devices, Process Manufacturing, Industrial Internet of Things
The prospect of adding wireless devices to the process automation architecture is compelling due to the potential business benefits and incremental operational improvements. Another trend that has major implications for the adoption of wireless technology is the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). A key enabler for IIoT connectivity, wireless technology will allow the proliferation of sensors at the device and equipment levels necessary to funnel data to IIoT-connected software applications, systems, and users.
The potential benefits to improve decision support, increase collaboration, reduce costs, and improve business performance provided by the emerging IIoT — combined with today’s increasingly robust and reliable wireless enabling technology — make for a value proposition that is too compelling for industry users to ignore. As such, obstacles such as competing industrial wireless standards at the sensor level have become less daunting.
“We’re seeing signs that industry users have begun to shake off their concerns about wireless technology, opting to harness the operational benefits that wireless affords, rather than sit on the fence,” commented Senior Analyst Allen Avery, the principal author of ARC’s “Wireless Devices in Process Manufacturing Global Market Research Study”
Wireless Continues to Make Inroads in the Plant
Recent years have brought many examples of success in industrial wireless. In many cases, wireless measurements have reduced implementation costs significantly compared with wired solutions. In other cases, wireless measurements – particularly condition monitoring-related measurements for plant asset management – can now be made that would otherwise be cost-prohibitive or impractical.
From Standalone Proprietary to Standard and Integrated
As the WirelessHART and ISA100.11a standards continue to gain footholds at the sensor level, the majority of the process wireless market will gravitate away from legacy proprietary solutions that accounted for a large share of the market in 2014. Concurrent with this shift, a migration away from standalone point-to-point installations will occur in favor of mesh-based, inherently redundant device level solutions that interface to a Wi-Fi-based plant or facility backbone.
Growth Geographies Reflect Leading Adopter Industries
Growth in wireless implementations by geography is largely driven by the presence of the leading adopter industries, particularly oil & gas, and/or the RF regulatory landscape. Availability of greenfield projects versus add-ons will also impact the relative size of the market by geography.
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