The executives spoke out about the standard during a press conference at the ISA Expo 2007 in Houston earlier this month. Representatives from ABB, Emerson, Endress+Hauser and Siemens spoke of the impact WirelessHART technology will have on the process industry and their expectations for the quick adoption of the technology by end users.

Sean Keeping, Vice-President Technology, for ABB Instrumentation, said the company has long believed a single fiedlbus standard would provide significant benefits to both user and vendors. "However, it is a business reality that multiple fieldbus technologies/standards are here to stay," Keeping added. "Therefore, to maximize our customersí ability to choose a best fit solution, we have integrated the leading fieldbus communications protocols into ABB field devices, tools and host systems.

Siemens' Division President for Sensors and Communication, Hans-Georg Kumpfmüller, agreed. "The HART Communication Foundation recently made several major steps forward. It has released HART version 7, which enables new functions for Process Automation manufacturers and end customers," he said. "With HART 7 there is also the first important official open standard for wireless communication available for the Process Automation industry--WirelessHART."