DEDHAM, MA-Wireless technology, now the networking backbone in homes and offices worldwide, is about to see widespread adoption on the plant floor and out in the field. The worldwide market for wireless technology in manufacturing is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 26% over the next five years. The market was $325.7 million in 2005 and is forecasted to be more than $1 billion in 2010, according to an ARC Advisory Group study.
There are a number of important factors that make wireless an important emerging technology today in manufacturing automation. "Manufacturers recognize that wireless can offer cost reductions. More importantly, they see wireless technologies as an enabler of entirely new business processes that will not only be less expensive, but will be safer, more reliable and far more transparent than their current manufacturing practices," says senior analyst Harry Forbes, the principal author of ARC's "Wireless Technology in Process Manufacturing."