Wireless Networks in the Process Industry: Opportunities for Ultra Wideband Applications

The advances in mobile technology, such as ultra wideband (UWB), enable the usage of advanced applications in the process industry. The main challenge in the first phase of designing UWB networks and applications is getting to know what the potential customer, e.g. process industry, wants. In this paper we present how to apply a user requirements elicitation process to get information about the expectation from the process industry regarding wireless networks and more specifically ultra wideband. This paper describes the design process of the balanced decisions that have to be made regarding applications as demanded by the process industry, and the technology as offered by the ICT industry. The outcome of this feasibility study leads to the decision for going on with the next step, i.e. the design and implementation of UWB applications in an industrial plant