MAINSTREM APPLICATIONS OF WIRELESS INSTRUMENTATION The How's and Why's of Improved Process Productivity and Lower Emissions

摘要

In 1997, the President's advisers on science and technology asserted that the development of wireless sensors could improve production efficiency by 10 percent and reduce emissions by more than 25 percent. Industrial analyst Harry Forbes, with ARC concluded that "Wireless Sensor Networks are one of the few technologies that offer the prospect for double digit performance improvements." This article explores how wireless instrumentation is entering the mainstream for large-scale implementation in industrial facilities -What applications are opened up as a result of this technology, how it has earned its stripes and what are the key elements for successful implementation. The attributes of wireless sensing technologies are examined in two categories: first, attributes of wireless instrumentation that result in mainstream adoption of wireless sensors; and second, those attributes and characteristics of the products, the plant site and the implementation that result in unsatisfactory installations. Elements of the plant site itself often are critical variables. This paper presents ways to identify and avoid pitfalls and allow realization of the double digit production efficiency improvements.