Yokogawa Corporation of America: Pioneering Field Wireless Systems for Process Industries

Wireless instrumentation is creating a lot of enthusiasm in process industries across the globe. Their usage in the industrial automation systems offers number of benefits from cost reduction brought by elimination of wiring to better plant information, improved productivity and better asset management. However the introduction of wireless communication to plants should be supported by features such as robustness, real-time responsiveness, and low power consumption. This has restricted the use of wireless communication to limited applications such as data logging and device status monitoring that does not require strict real-time responsiveness. However the introduction of ISA100.11a, a wireless communication standard for industrial automation, in September 2009 has brought the much anticipated change to this scenario. The very next year Yokogawa, headquarter based on Tokyo, released the world’s first wireless sensor network technology and the devices based on the ISA100.11a standard. Yokogawa ISA100.11a solutions allow process plant sensors and devices under single wireless infrastructure to address aforementioned challenges. “Yokogawa is committed to the emerging wireless technologies as a way forward in implementing total solutions with wireless sensor networks to enhance the functionality of Distributed Control System (DCS) and plant asset management,” Penny Chen, PhD, Principal System Architect, Yokogawa Strategic Technology Market Center (USMK).

Yokogawa’s ISA100.11a wireless system saves money by using less hardware to cover larger areas. The company’s access points and wireless transmitters cover up to 3 km between devices using their remote antenna option. Yokogawa combines the best of ISA100.11a wireless technology with its design expertise to build a very reliable radio-link feature and calls it “Reliable Radio”. It covers 600 square meter area and can support as many as 500 field devices reliably. Furthermore, Yokogawa wireless solution also enhance the network stability over the “Reliable Radio” full system redundancy technology in order to carry out the high reliable and control application requirement.