"Although major advances in both price and performance have occurred in wireless networking, its acceptance in the industrial sectors has been slow."

So begins the initial draft for the charter for the Wireless Industrial Networking Alliance, or WINA, a new membership group dedicated to addressing the challenges that hinder the widespread adoption of wireless systems in demanding industrial environments.

"Over the last decade, wireless communication systems have become increasingly less expensive and more reliable," says Robert Poor, WINA's acting chair. "While technologies such as WiFi have become popular in commercial and consumer markets, the industrial sector has been slow to adopt wireless communication for everyday use. WINA's goal is to grow the market for industrial applications by bringing together customers in the industrial sector, providers of wireless communication systems and standards bodies."

Among WINA's initial goals are:

• Form industry partnerships to sponsor wireless plant demonstrations
• Support Web-based education and demonstration projects
• Certify systems in specific types of applications
• Define requirements and work with industry alliances and standards bodies to achieve them
• Influence and support applicable standards

Membership in WINA is open to industrial firms, wireless networking suppliers, integrators, standards bodies and related associations. For more information, visit www.wireless4industrial.org.