Wi-HTest: Testing Suite for Diagnosing WirelessHART (TM) Devices and Networks

WirelessHART was released in September 2007 and is the first open wireless communication standard specifically designed for process control applications. As an optional part of the HART (R) Communication Protocol, WirelessHART is designed to the same standards for reliability and interoperability. To ensure the compliance with the HART Communication Protocol and the adherence to the high level of interoperability defined by the HART Communication Foundation (HCF), all WirelessHART devices must be thoroughly tested and registered with the HCF. In this paper, we present Wi-HTest, the test engine designed to exercise WirelessHART devices, thus facilitating compliance assessment. We discuss the detailed architecture of Wi-HTest and highlight several critical features like virtual devices and fault data injection.