Two weeks ago, the Hart Communication Foundation (HCF) announced official release of the Hart 7 Specification - which includes WirelessHart, the first open wireless communication standard specifically designed for process measurement and control, developed through the combined, cooperative efforts of HCF member companies, which includes all industry leaders.

There was a 11th hour appeal via an "open letter" from Honeywell, which itself is on the 5-member HCF board of directors, recommending that HCF adopt the not-yet-ready ISA100 for wireless networking. Other HCF board members are ABB, Emerson Process Management, Endress+Hauser and Siemens.

ISA100 is being developed to support multiple protocols, such as Hart, Profibus, CIP and Foundation Fieldbus instead of just Hart-7. This is being coordinated by ISA's SP100 committee, with a "draft version" ISA-100.11a expected at the ISA Expo in October (now just a week away). When was the last time a committee approved a draft specification in less than umpteen months?

The vote predictably passed 4:1, snubbing Honeywell. WirelessHart became the first officially released industrial wireless communication standard. The expectation is that multiple products will soon be available with the new standard. Of course, WirelessHART approval doesn't end the arguments.

At the launch of 'OneWireless' offering in June 2007, Honeywell kept refusing to be drawn on whether they supported Wireless HART, insisting instead that they supported HART-over-wireless. Most observers did not really understand the semantic difference.

It's about 2 years since Emerson demonstrated its lead with its wireless products. Since then Emerson has released products in advance of agreement on the standard with an undertaking that users would be able to migrate to the standard once it had been approved. The approval of WirelessHART now makes it easy for them to cement their lead, leaving Honeywell to protest about how ISA100 will provide better links to more protocols. Indeed, Emerson remains committed to working on SP100, and intend to make sure Wireless HART technology is included in that standard - when it is eventually approved.

Emerson has the most to gain if the standard emerges today; Honeywell has the most to lose if Wireless HART gains market traction. That is simply the basis of their two opposing positions.

Most companies in the automation industry recognize Wireless as a new "inflection point" which will generate significant growth and market share for the leaders. So, the "Wireless Wars" are generating even more wild and wacky non-sense.

This kind of noise is similar to what occurred during the "Fieldbus Wars" which started almost 2 decades ago. ISA was coordinating the SP50 Fieldbus standard, which never really got anywhere. In the end, some 10-15 different industrial networking protocols were approved as "standards". The situation was too funny to write about in regular prose - people would be offended by clear statements of what was happening. So, I turned to poetry - a crisp, lucid way of describing the situation.

Here (below) is my new poem on the Wireless Wars. I trust you'll enjoy it.