WLAN and Bluetooth are the most used in industrial automation

IMS research has reported the wireless LAN accounted for a 31 percent share of shipments of wireless-enabled industrial automation equipment. The second most used wireless connection in industrial automation is Bluetooth, which holds 22 percent of the market. The remainder of the market was populated by a range of mainly proprietary technologies all accounting for relatively small percentages, as shown in the figure below. IHS predicts the share of the market held by 802.11a/b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth (both Classic and Low Energy variants) will continue to rise at least through the year 2017. “There are many other technologies offered by a number of vendors which cater to the industrial market,” said Tom Moore, industrial communications analyst for IHS. “These technologies are usually based either around the 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) band or the lower sub-GHz band, which can offer distance benefits over high frequencies. The sub-GHz bands also have an advantage of being free from the busy 2.4 GHz space, which is dominated by consumer products. By moving to this sub-GHz space, the bands are more freely available and can be cheaper to operate in.” IMS says "These various proprietary technologies that populate the market are helping promote the adoption of wireless as the individual vendors all push their own technologies. However, having these sundry technologies can make end us...