UHF RFID tags offer a low cost and easy to install solution for asset tracking that provides a granular view of assets as they move about a site. Generally used for tracking mobile assets, passive UHF RFID tags communicate with RFID readers via electromagnetic waves. The reader and antenna direct electromagnetic radio waves to the RFID tags which are within close proximity. The radio waves form a current which activates the integrated circuit (IC). The IC then modulates the energy with its data stored in its memory and directs a signal back out through its antenna.
Hazardous area data is one of the most valuable resources for a company to access. Using wireless infrastructure, such as Wi-Fi to gain information on the efficiency and status of machinery, the location and wellbeing of personnel, scheduling and organising maintenance, and more – all contributes towards maintaining productivity and safety.
Connectivity has become a crucial component for the modern process industry. Many facilities around the world are already on the path to achieve digitalisation by leveraging a wide range of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices now available on the market.
Extronics has been leading the way in hazardous area wireless products since the launch of our first ATEX certified wireless solution in 2005. We are continually building on this experience and have formed technical partnerships with providers such as Cisco, Aruba, Siemens, ProSoft and more.
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Vendor Agnostic Wireless
iWAP Series of Hazardous Area Wireless Enclosures
The iWAP107 and iWAP XN3 hazardous area wireless enclosures have been designed specifically for wireless applications. Engineered to the highest quality, our iWAP range is vendor agnostic giving you complete flexibility over your chosen wireless technology. Pick from some of the main global brands such as Cisco, Aruba, Siemens and many more.
iSOLATE Technology
Protecting against AC, DC, and dangerous transient faults, the iSOLATE501 makes RF outputs intrinsically safe. Working with its sister product the iSOLATE-CT, Extronics’ iSOLATE technology ensures that standard antennas can be safely deployed and changed from inside a hazardous area.
iANT Standard Antenna Range
Fully assessed by Extronics’ engineers as ‘simple apparatus’ under intrinsic safety standards, the iANT range gives you a wide choice of standard antenna options for use with our iWAP range of hazardous area wireless enclosures.
Wireless Buyers Guide
We will shortly be releasing an all NEW Wireless Buyers Guide. The guide will cover:
- Global standards governing the deployment of wireless radio devices into hazardous areas
- Typical wireless technology used in hazardous areas
- Ex solutions for deploying wireless devices and the key considerations
- Environmental and installation challenges
- Maintenance considerations
Wireless Technology
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi networks have been the go-to standard for industrial wireless applications for the last twenty years. Many process industry companies are now striving to achieve digitalisation across many of their facilities, leveraging a wide range of IIoT devices now available on the market. Wi-Fi is still a prominent solution for IIoT applications, but there are many challenges unique to these environments that must first be considered.
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
BLE has seen steady growth in popularity in recent years. It has become the front runner in many social distancing applications adopted by wearable device manufacturers. This is largely a result of the low infrastructure cost, global standardisation and sub-one metre accuracy that can be achieved in such a use case. BLE is no longer limited to short-range, one-to-one connectivity. The evolving nature of Bluetooth now allows for long-range capabilities as well as connecting many devices to support IIoT applications.
LoRaWAN
LoRaWAN is a proprietary low-power wide-area network modulation technique. It has seen wide use in IIoT applications for long-range communications links. LoRa ready devices can provide a wide range of IoT applications by transmitting packets with important information, such as those seen in environmental, asset tracking or condition monitoring use cases.
WiHART & ISA 100.11a
WiHART and ISA100.11a are wireless instrumentation protocols that offer similar functionality and operate over 802.15.4 MESH radios in the licence free spectrum at 2.4GHz. The low power, low bandwidth radios MESH together to form a resilient network that is primarily used in battery powered process instrumentation for applications where cabled devices are not suitable.
LTE
LTE stands for Long Term Evolution and is a generic acronym for cellular wireless communication. 4G networks are currently the most common but 5G LTE technology is currently being rolled out. LTE networks require less infrastructure than WiFi to provide the same level of connectivity plus it offers greater security and device management.
Until recently cellular networks have been the domain of the Telco, but with availability of licence free sprectrum private LTE (CBRS in the United States) offers end users the possibility of deploying their own LTE network in the same way they would a WiFi network.
Ultra-Wide Band
Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) radio technology is a low power, short range, high frequency wireless network that can be used for a variety of use cases. UWB is often used for asset and personnel tracking, where sub-one metre accuracy is required. Other uses include ultra-high bandwidth data connectivity applications, such as those seen in Personal Area Networks.
