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www.rockproducts.com ROCK products • September 2015 • 37 EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY AUTOMATION & ENERGY E merson Process Manage- ment's Smart Wireless Gateway 1552WU is a Wi-Fi access point that connects WirelessHART sensors to the control network. Jointly developed as an inte- gral part of Cisco's IoT Sys- tems, the 1552WU is a fully featured mesh access point that simplifies Wi-Fi and WirelessHART installations, l o we r s c o s t s a n d re d u c - es deployment time. It can seamlessly connect to neigh- boring access points allow- ing complete wireless cov- erage, with only local power wired to the 1552WU. "Customers get the com- bined industry and techni- cal expertise of Emerson a n d C i s c o i n a h i gh - p e r - forming, secure, scalable ga te way t h a t s a fe g u a rd s data integrity," said Alex- andre Peixoto, industrial wireless manager, Emer- son Process Management. With this product, Cisco and Emerson have provided a solution that meets both operations technology and i n f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y standards. "We are pleased to contin- ue our collaboration with E m e r s o n ," s t a t e d To n y Shakib, vice president, IoE vertical solutions engineer- ing for Cisco. "By integrating Emerson's WirelessHART Gateway with Cisco's out- d o o r, h a z a r d o u s - l o c a - tion-qualified access points, the 1552WU provides cus- tomers with the efficiency, scalability and security of a single wireless network solution that can be uti- lized for multiple use-cas- es, including plant control, worker mobility and safe- ty. This solution extends to meet the demands from both operational technol- ogy and information tech- nology, in industrial envi- ro n m e n t s t o re a l i z e t h e Internet of Things vision." The 1552WU is an example of how simplifying instal- lation with wireless tech- nology enables customers to apply Pervasive Sensing strategies to improve plant performance and reliability. As obtaining data from hard- to-access locations becomes easier and more cost effec- tive, process manufacturers are better able to address concerns such as corrosion, energy consumption and the environment. Emerson Process Manage- ment, www.EmersonPro- cess.com Emerson Simplifies Wide-Area Plant Network Deployment In industrial net- wo rk i n g a p p l i - cations, such as communications between offshore oil platforms or train-to-ground communications, a reliable wireless bridge is essential to minimize system downtime and maximize avail- ability. Moxa's new AWK-3131A wire- less AP/bridge/client delivers exceptionally fast, ultra reliable wireless performance in indus- trial settings by supporting IEEE 802.11n technology with a maximum net data rate of 300 Mbps, plus AeroLink Protection redundancy to prevent a single point of failure from bringing down an entire network. With AeroLink Protection, a network has two or more pro- tected wireless client nodes connected to a single access point. One serves as the active node, while the others are pas- sive backup nodes. If the active node stops sending or receiving data for any reason, AeroLink Protection completely restores the communication link with- in 300 ms (milliseconds) by bringing backup nodes online. "AeroLink Protection constant- ly monitors each device's sta- tus. If the active node is disabled by a local power failure or hard- ware fault, the backup nodes will automatically take over to keep the data moving," said Ari- ana Drivdahl, product market- ing manager at Moxa Americas. Due to overcrowding on the 2.4 GHz frequency band and the introduction of 802.11ac, many industrial networks have already begun migrating to 5 GHz. Engineered for flexible deployment, the AWK-3131A can operate on either the 2.4 or 5 GHz bands and is back- wards-compatible with exist- ing 802.11a/b/g applications to future-proof wireless invest- ments. Seamless roaming offered by the AWK-3131A's Turbo Roaming technology reduces handover time to the millisec- ond level and provide the ben- efits of seamless transmission and control. To avoid packet loss, the AWK-3131A actively searches for APs with a stron- ger signal without waiting for a complete disconnection. Turbo Roaming is especially useful in the control and monitoring of mobile vehicles such as the unmanned AGVs and shuttles commonly implemented in fac- tory automation. Power and radio frequency disturbances are the two most common causes of wireless communications failure in industrial computing appli- cations. The AWK-3131A is designed with integrated dual isolation protection to mitigate both. First, Integrated RF Isola- tion provides 500-V insulation protection and level 4 ESD pro- tection without loss of the RF signal. Next, Integrated Power Isolation provides 500-V insu- lation protection and stabilizes system voltage. The AWK-3131A is compliant with industrial standards and approvals covering operating temperature, power input voltage, surge, ESD and vibra- tion to assure performance in harsh industrial environ- ments such as oil refineries, water treatment centers and offshore platforms. Moxa, www.moxa.com Moxa's Wireless AP/Bridge/Client Features AeroLink Protection