The WirelessHART™ Communication specification (HART 7.1) has been submitted to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) for approval as a Publicly Available Specification. Released by the HART® Communication Foundation in September 2007, WirelessHART is the first open and interoperable wireless communication standard designed to address the critical needs of the process industry for wireless communication in the real world field environment of industrial plant applications. The IEC has initiated a worldwide ballot to approve the PAS after which the WirelessHART specification will begin the process to become an amendment to IEC 61158, the fieldbus standard. HART Communication is already included in the application layer of this document. The PAS ballot will last for two months; closing on 19 September 2008. WirelessHART builds on established and field-proven international standards including the HART Communication Protocol (IEC 61158), EDDL (IEC 61804-3), IEEE 802.15.4™ radio and frequency hopping, spread spectrum and mesh networking technologies. The new technology addresses the issues users face in the process plant environment and seamlessly integrates existing devices into HART-enabled systems. The IEC is a global organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. IEC standards provide industry and users with the framework for economies of design, greater product and service quality, more inter-operability, and better production and delivery efficiency. They facilitate world trade by removing technical barriers to trade, leading to new markets and economic growth.
