AC 2007-1525: A RELIABLE WIRELESS LINK COUPLED WITH COMPUTER BASED VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTATION FOR CONTROL APPLICATIONS

Wireless telephone systems have been available for quite sometime. However, wireless devices that can send and receive analog and digital data from industrial control process in a noisy industrial environment have only been introduced recently. Such devices can be used as a wireless digital and analog conduit. This technology is basically a commercialized version of the spread spectrum license free frequency hopping communication techniques used by the defense industry. Since the system is license free and is a maintenance free wireless conduit (communication channel), it eliminates costly and time consuming cable installation for new and retrofitting of existing project. This wireless conduit is an interference free link between remote devices and control rooms. Thus it is ideal for a noisy industrial environment. Direct computer control applications using virtual instrumentation techniques are often restricted to applications such as space and military. A primary reason for this was historically their high cost. Today with availability of ever increasing computer processing power, low cost and high density memory coupled with reliability of low cost computer hardware components, and enhancement in personal computer based software packages, it has become more cost effective and feasible to monitor and control industrial processes from a computer terminal that includes animated computer graphics. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the partially developed laboratory facility and course material that are being integrated in to process control courses. This laboratory facility will also be used to do research and development in the area of direct computer control over a wireless conduit. This laboratory facility will develop new models, standards, and framework for direct computer control over wireless conduit, promote the technology to the industry, produce graduates that will be capable of implementing the technology for the industry, and in turn stimulate the economic growth. Immediate benefits to the industry include decreased time and cost of upgrading and retrofitting existing processes. Since these wireless technologies can be mixed match with traditional industrial instrumentation for a plant, it can be retrofitted in phases. A comparable example is networking of computers at home and office using wireless routers. Just a few years back networking of computers needed either Cat-5 or coaxial cables from computers to a router. Today, same task of computer network at home and at office can be painlessly achieved without running cables and using wireless routers. Many universities provide secure wireless access point to their local area network for students and faculty. Also there are unsecured wireless access points available at major airports and malls. All these are possible because of easy availability of the wireless technology. This project has the same idea but used for instrumentation and control of industrial processes. However, for industrial control purposes, technologies required to be secure and immune to industrial noises. The process combines the power of computer processing, local area network (LAN) and convenience of wireless conduit in one control system.