Semiconductor device fabrication systems and methods are provided. In an example, a semiconductor device fabrication system includes a semiconductor fabrication tool. Further, the semiconductor device fabrication system includes wireless sensors associated with the semiconductor fabrication tool. The wireless sensors measure process parameters of the fabrication tool and transmit wireless signals. The semiconductor device fabrication system also includes a sensor controller configured to identify the wireless sensors associated with the semiconductor fabrication tool and to receive the wireless signals from the wireless sensors. The semiconductor device fabrication system further includes a tool controller including a receiver for receiving data from the sensor controller. The tool controller is configured to sequentially assign system variable identifiers (SVID) to the data from the sensor controller, and to contextualize the data in data packets.

A method for operating a wireless field-device network, comprising: wirelessly transmitting a process variable and an expected remaining running time from each field device to the other field devices within a field-device network so that in each field device the process variable and the expected remaining running time of the other field devices of the field-device network are stored; activating a second radio module of that field device which has the highest expected remaining running time, and deactivating the second radio modules of the other field devices within the field-device network; wirelessly transmitting the process variables of all field devices of the field-device network stored in the active field device, or at least a subset of the stored process variables, to the superordinate unit, which is not part of the field-device network, by means of the second radio module of the active field device.

A method for retrieving process, operation or maintenance relevant data of a process plant by way of a field monitor, wherein multiple wireless field device networks are present in the process plant. Data from the field devices from different field device networks are gathered by way of the field monitor. Plant information from the field devices belonging to different field device networks are displayed on a display of the field monitor to a user regardless of the respective field device network they belong to.

Embodiments of the present invention are generally directed to a system for monitoring a variety of environmental and/or other conditions within a defined remotely located region. Such a system may be configured to monitor utility meters in a defined area. The system is implemented by using a plurality of wireless transmitters, wherein each wireless transmitter is integrated into a sensor adapted to monitor a particular data input. The system also includes a plurality of transceivers that are dispersed throughout the region at defined locations. The system uses a local gateway to translate and transfer information from the transmitters to a dedicated computer on a network. The dedicated computer, collects, compiles, and stores the data for retrieval upon client demand across the network. Other aspects, features, and embodiments are also claimed and described.

A method for use in an automated wireless industrial system comprising a device configured to act as a control node and at least one field level device, wherein the method comprises: issuing a control communication; inserting at least one time delay (tk) to the control communication; noting the communication time (TCL) for the communication; comparing the time for communication (TCL) to an expected time for communication (TR); and determining if any of the at least one time delay (tk) should be adapted, and if so, adapting at least that time delay.

Techniques for accessing and controlling field devices to collect data and convert protocols include receiving data encoded in a process control protocol, extracting a payload, storing some of the payload, and transmitting some of the payload in a general-purpose computing communication protocol via a wireless network. A method of accessing a field device includes receiving a command of a user from a user communicator, identifying a target field device, generating a command, encoding a protocol-encoded data set, and transmitting the protocol-encoded data set to the target field device. A field communicator device includes instructions for retrieving and interpreting field device data, storing the data, and transmitting the data. A computing system includes a field communicator, wireless user communicator, and a wireless computer network for accessing and controlling field devices in a process plant.

A process control system including an automation device, a process control function, a cycle time determining function and hardware implementing the process control function and cycle time determining function, where the process control function controls the automation device in a process control loop via a first wireless communication network and the cycle time determining function obtains a first mapping of cycle time of the process control loop to quality of service of the first wireless communication network and control performance of the process control loop, analyses the first mapping and determines a cycle time to be used in the first wireless communication network based on the analysis.