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WirelessHART is a cutting-edge standard for the wireless process industry. This book helps facilitate the adoption of wireless technology in industrial automation and introduces the research potential of the wireless industrial automation to the academics.

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The process control industry has seen generations of technology advancement, from pneumatic communication to electrical communication to electronic c- munication, from centralized control to distributed control. At the center of today´s distributed control systems are operator workstations. These operator wo- stations provide the connection between those overseeing and running plant operations to the process itself. With each new generation of products the operator workstation has become increasingly more intelligent. Newer applications provide advanced alarming, control, and diagnostics. Behind all of these applications are smarter devices. These smart devices provide greater process insight, reduce en- neering costs, and contribute to improving the overall operational performance of the plant. Smart devices include advanced diagnostics that can report the health of the device and in many cases, the health of the process that the device is connected to. It is not uncommon for smart devices to include diagnostics that can detect plugged lines, burner flame instability, agitator loss, wet gas, orifice wear, leaks, and cavitations. These devices tell the user how well they are operating and when they need maintenance. Improvements in sensor technology and diagnostics have lead to a large variety of smart devices. So how do users connect the capabilities of these smart devices to their existing control system infrastructures? The answer is wireless. Wireless technology has matured to the point that it now can be safely applied in industrial control, monitor, and asset management applications.

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Part I - WirelessHART in a Nutshell.- OVERVIEW.- PHYSICAL LAYER.- DATA LINK LAYER.- NETWORK LAYER.- APPLICATION LAYER.- WIRELESSHART NETWORK.- Part II - WirelessHART in Depth.- DISCOURSES ON THE STACK.- DISCOURSES ON THE MESH NETWORK.- DISCOURSES IN GENERAL.- Part III - WirelessHART Is Here to Stay.- TEST AND DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS.- AN EXAMPLE.- DEPLOYMENT RECOMMENDATIONS.- Part IV - WirelessHART and Its Role in the New Generation of Process Control.- RESEARCH IN WIRELESS MESH NETWORKS.- REAL-TIME INDUSTRIAL PROCESS CONTROL SYSTEMS.- WHY WIRELESSHART IS THE MOST ADVANCED.- WIRELESSHART AND PROCESS COTNROL.- FUTURE OF WIRELESS AND WIRELESSHART.- Part V - Appendices.- REFERENCES.- DEFINITIONS.- SYMBOLS/ABBREVIATIONS.-

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Mark Nixon (PhD) ist Lecturer in English Literature und Direktor der Beckett International Foundation an der University of Reading, England.

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