After watching this video
you will be able to easily explain the difference between a typical wireless network
that we use at home or the office, like WiFi,
and an industrial wireless network.
So when it comes to wireless networks,
we can think of two main types of networks:
Wireless networks we use at home or the office
such as WiFi, Bluetooth, and 5G,
and, Industrial Wireless networks such as IIoT
or Industrial Internet of Things
that we, as automation engineers, use in industrial environments
such as power plants, oil refineries, or water treatment plants.
These two major types of wireless networks are different
in terms of the amount of data that they typically send and receive,
the battery life of the devices used in these networks,
and how important reliability of the data is to the user.
The main difference between a typical wireless network
compared to an industrial network
is the amount of data that is usually sent and received between devices.
Now, what do I mean by that?
Well, let’s take WiFi as an example of a typical wireless network.
A WiFi network is designed for devices that send and receive large amounts of data.
Examples of these large amounts of data packages
are videos on the internet,
images, web pages, etc.
these are what we consider large data packages.
In contrast, an industrial wireless system
is designed for devices that only need to send and receive a small amount of data.
An example is the small amount of data that a gas pressure sensor
in an industrial process needs to send to the controller.
The data exchanged may be as simple
as a “tag name” and “process variable”.
This represents only a few words of data
that are sent from a device in the field
to a controller in the control room,
wirelessly every few seconds.
So in an industrial wireless network,
we send tiny packages of data
in a relatively short period of time
about the status of an industrial process.
Since a typical wireless network
such as WiFi or Bluetooth
is designed to send and receive large amounts of data,
the devices that are used in these networks
such as laptops or smartphones
consume a lot of battery in a relatively short period of time.
Because of this, you need to charge these devices every few hours or days
depending on how much you’re using the device.
Larger files result in more use of the device battery
and the need to charge the device more often.
But this is totally different with the devices that are used
in an industrial wireless network.
An Industrial wireless network is designed to send and receive small amounts of data.
Because of this, the devices that are used in these networks
such as wireless sensors and actuators
consume very little battery in a relatively large period of time.
As a result, these industrial wireless devices can often operate for years
without any need for a battery charge.
This is a fundamental difference, in terms of battery life,
between a device that is used in a typical wireless network
such as WiFi
and a device that is used in an industrial wireless network
such as IIoT.
And this is not by accident!
These industrial wireless devices
are “designed” to have longer battery life.
Why, you ask? Because often,
they are installed in areas that are not easily accessible.
So it is not very easy to power or charge these devices
as often as a regular smartphone, for example.
When you are using your smartphone in a typical wireless network such as WiFi,
it is ok to lose the connection from time to time.
For example, you are in the middle of a video call
and you lose the other person for a second or two.
I know, this can be very annoying,
but it is just something that happens periodically.
But when it comes to an industrial wireless network such as IIoT,
this is not acceptable.
Why? Because in an industrial wireless network
the reliability and the accuracy of the data
that is sent and received are very critical.
Take the wireless sensor that we mentioned earlier as an example.
As mentioned, this sensor needs to send or report the gas pressure every few seconds
to let the controller know what is going on in the process.
Right? Now, in a large industrial process,
we often have hundreds of these sensors.
Based on this input data,
the controller which could often be a PLC or a DCS
sends data to an output device such as a valve.
Now if the data that is sent from this wireless sensor gets interrupted,
the controller which works as the brain of the system
will not be provided with the required input data
to be able to send a correct output command
to an output device such as a valve, right?
The controller needs input data that is correct and healthy
to be able to send a correct and healthy output command to the device in the output.
Interruptions in wireless communication,
in a strategic industrial environment such as a power plant or an oil refinery,
can result in process upsets,
which could lead to other more serious consequences.
So that is why the reliability and accuracy of the data
in an industrial wireless system are critical,
and in most cases, there is little room for errors
or interruption of data communication.
So there you have it.
To recap there are three main differences between a typical wireless network
such as WiFi
and an industrial wireless network such as IIoT:
In a typical wireless network,
we usually send and receive large amounts of data
such as video files, images, and webpages.
However, in an industrial wireless network such as IIoT,
we usually send and receive small amounts of data
like the gas pressure or liquid level in an industrial process.
Devices that work in a typical wireless network, such as smartphones,
are designed to process large amounts of data
and because of this, their battery life is relatively short.
In comparison, devices that work in an industrial wireless network
are designed to process small amounts of data
and because of this, their battery life could go as long as a few years
without requiring a single battery charge.
In a typical wireless network,
it is “okay” for the data to be interrupted sometimes
but this is not acceptable in an industrial wireless network.
Here the reliability and the accuracy of the data are critical.
One of the most reliable and accurate industrial wireless protocols
that you can use to build your industrial wireless network is ISA100 Wireless.
This industrial wireless protocol
is developed and maintained by the International Society of Automation, or ISA,
which is the organization responsible for the development of the standards
and the certifications
for the industrial automation industry worldwide.
One thing that we particularly like about ISA100 protocol
is that this is a protocol
that is designed to work with all wireless devices from all major manufacturers
such as Honeywell, Flowserve,
Yokogawa, and Spirax-Sarco, to name a few.
This simply means when you use ISA100 as your industrial wireless network,
you’re not tied into a single vendor solution
and you have the freedom to go with the wide range of manufacturers
that support this protocol.
To learn more about ISA100
head on over to “isa100wci.org”.
We’ll add a link to the video description as well.
If you have any questions about ISA100
or industrial wireless networks in general
add them in the comments below.
As you know, we read each and every comment
and reply to it in less than 24 hours!