At long last, HART has finalized the device Registration program for both wired and wireless HART devices. This supplants the longstanding practice of self-certification that HART Foundation member companies could perform in the past.
Here's some of the press release:
HART Device Registration Program Ensures Compliance with HART Communication Standard
Wired and wireless devices must pass rigorous test program to earn
“HART Registered” designation
Austin, TX, USA (12 May 2009)— The HART® Communication Foundation (www.hartcomm.org) announces an update to the HART Device Registration Testing Tools that includes the HART Test System, the new Wireless Test System, the Wi-Analys Network Analyzer, and the original Physical Layer Test Kit. These testing tools play a key role in the development, compliance testing and verification of HART-enabled devices, allowing Foundation member companies designing wired and/or wireless HART devices to rigorously test them for compliance with the HART Protocol Standard (Revisions 5, 6 and 7).
To verify compliance with the HART Protocol Specification, wired and wireless devices that claim to be “HART Registered” must pass the rigorous HART Device Registration Program conducted by the Foundation. HART registration is available for all process measurement devices, interfaces such as modems, multiplexers and I/O systems, HART masters including systems and handhelds, and Device Description (EDD)-enabled host applications.
“100 percent verification tests are conducted to confirm compliance to the HART Protocol standard,” says Ed Ladd, HART Communication Foundation Director of Technology Programs. “Running the tests ourselves and independently verifying that submitted devices meet the intent of the standard ensures interoperability – reducing the risk of problems in the field.”
Devices that pass the tests earn the “HART Registered” designation, are issued a Certificate of Registration, and are allowed to display the “HART Registered” mark. The Foundation tests and registers all HART-enabled devices and all HART Device Descriptions to assure that every device submitted, whether wired and wireless, is interoperable across platforms.
The testing is complete and exhaustive. Both good and bad data are sent to see that the device responds appropriately. For example, test DLL 039 stress test involves two million messages. “Devices have to interoperate and be robust on the network,” Ladd says. “To be ‘registered’ a device can miss no more than 20 messages.”
HART users have the largest selection of device types, system solutions and vendors—more than 26 million HART devices in the field produced by over 220 different manufacturers. According to Ladd, that is why ensuring interoperability is so critical. “If you’re replacing a device at 2:00 a.m., you need to know it’s going to communicate - no matter who manufactured it. That’s what the registration process is all about. This gives users the confidence they need to invest in HART-enabled assets.”
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