After months of being the critical path to getting products out the door, and feeling the imprint of all the boots running down that path on their backs, the HART Communication Foundation has released the WirelessHART Test Suite that is the complement to the already released Test Suite for wired HART 7.1.
This will allow vendors to test their WirelessHART systems for interoperability and compatibility with the HART standard and make it easier to gain Registration as an approved WirelessHART device.
Here is the text of the press release:
Newest Addition to HART Test System Supports Testing for Interoperability of WirelessHART Devices
Wireless test tool latest update to rigorous HART Device Registration Program
Austin, TX, USA (12 May 2009)—The new Wireless Test System recently released by the HART® Communication Foundation (www.hartcomm.org) is the latest update to the HART Test System. The HART Test System is a set of testing tools that play a key role in ensuring device interoperability of both wired and wireless HART-enabled devices. The new Wireless Test System supports testing of a WirelessHART™ device’s TDMA Data Link Layer and is now available to all Foundation Members.
“The HART Test System is an integral part in the HART Device Registration Program. The system helps to assure the interoperability of wired or wireless devices produced to the HART standard regardless of the device manufacturer,” says Ed Ladd, HCF Director of Technology Programs. “Users can buy with confidence a device that has been HART Registered, knowing it will work with the devices and systems already installed in their plant.”
The HART Test System is a complete testing tool produced on the Linux operating system that works with wired HART devices or through WirelessHART gateways that support the standardized HART UDP interface. With the addition of the Wireless Test System the tools now include automated testing of the Application Layer, Token Passing Data Link Layer, TDMA Data Link Layer and analysis software for the verification of a device’s conformance to the HART Protocol specification.
“The design of the test system allows the Foundation to control the evolution of the tool and to add components, such as the new Wireless Test System, as they are made available,” says Ladd. “The HART Test System allows member companies designing wired and/or WirelessHART devices to fully test them for compliance to all revisions of the HART Protocol standard.
WirelessHART technology is an evolutionary enhancement to the HART Communication Protocol, the leading communication technology for intelligent process measurement and control field devices and systems with more than 26 million devices installed worldwide. WirelessHART is backward compatible with currently installed HART devices, is supported by existing HART tools, and provides an additional capability to access asset management information in both existing and new monitoring and control applications
