WhatisHART?

ThemajorityofsmartfielddevicesinstalledworldwidetodayareHARTenabled.Butsomenewintheautomationfield
mayneedarefresheronthispowerfultechnology.
Simplyput,theHART(HighwayAddressableRemoteTransducer)Protocolistheglobalstandardforsendingandreceiving
digitalinformationacrossanalogwiresbetweensmartdevicesandcontrolormonitoringsystem.
Morespecifically,HARTisabidirectionalcommunicationprotocolthatprovidesdataaccessbetweenintelligentfield
instrumentsandhostsystems.Ahostcanbeanysoftwareapplicationfromtechnician'shandhelddeviceorlaptoptoa
plant'sprocesscontrol,assetmanagement,safetyorothersystemusinganycontrolplatform.
ADIGITALUPGRADEFOREXISTINGPLANTS
HARTtechnologyoffersareliable,longtermsolutionforplantoperatorswhoseekthebenefitsofintelligentdeviceswith
digitalcommunicationthatisincludedinthemajorityofthedevicesbeinginstalled. Inmanycaseshowever,most
applicationscannotretrofittheirexistingautomationsystemswithasystemthatcanacceptthedigitaldatawhichis
providedbytheHARTProtocol.
Becausemostautomationnetworksinoperationtodayarebasedontraditional420mAanalogwiring,HARTtechnology
servesacriticalrolebecausethedigitalinformationissimultaneouslycommunicatedwiththe420mAsignal.Withoutit,
therewouldbenodigitalcommunication.
ACRITICAL,DIGITALROLE
HARTtechnologyiseasytouseandveryreliablewhenusedforcommissioningandcalibrationofsmartdevicesaswellas
forcontinuousonlinediagnostics.
Thereareseveralreasonstohaveahostcommunicatewithsmartdevices.Theseinclude:

DeviceConfigurationorreconfiguration

DeviceDiagnostics

DeviceTroubleshooting

Readingtheadditionalmeasurementvaluesprovidedbythedevice

DeviceHealthandStatus

Muchmore:TherearemanybenefitsofusingHARTtechnology,andmoreusersarereportingbenefitsintheir
projectsonacontinualbasis. FormoreinformationpleasevisitSuccessStories

YearsofsuccessusingthesebenefitsexplainwhyHARTtechnologyisthelargestofallcommunicationprotocols,installed
inmorethan30milliondevicesworldwide.
Ifyou'veeverusedalandlinetelephoneandnoticedtheCallerIDdisplaytotakenoteofwhoiscalling,youalreadyknow
halfofwhattheHARTProtocoldoesittells"who"iscalling.Inanindustrialautomationnetwork"who"isa
microprocessorbasedsmartfielddevice.Inadditiontolettingsuchsmartfielddevices"phonehome,"HART
Communicationletsahostsystemsenddatatothesmartinstrument.
HARTemergedinthelate1980sbasedonthesametechnologythatbroughtCallerIDtoanalogtelephony.Ithas
undergonecontinueddevelopment,uptoandincludingautomationproductsnowshippingwithbuiltinWirelessHART
Communication.

HowHARTWorks
HARTisanacronymforHighwayAddressableRemoteTransducer.TheHARTProtocolmakesuseoftheBell202
FrequencyShiftKeying(FSK)standardtosuperimposedigitalcommunicationsignalsatalowlevelontopofthe420mA.

Figure 1. Frequency Shift Keying (FSK)

Thisenablestwowayfieldcommunicationtotakeplaceandmakesitpossibleforadditionalinformationbeyondjustthe
normalprocessvariabletobecommunicatedto/fromasmartfieldinstrument.TheHARTProtocolcommunicatesat1200
bpswithoutinterruptingthe420mAsignalandallowsahostapplication(master)togettwoormoredigitalupdatesper
secondfromasmartfielddevice.AsthedigitalFSKsignalisphasecontinuous,thereisnointerferencewiththe420mA
signal.
HARTtechnologyisamaster/slaveprotocol,whichmeansthatasmartfield(slave)deviceonlyspeakswhenspokentobya
master.TheHARTProtocolcanbeusedinvariousmodessuchaspointtopointormultidropforcommunicating
informationto/fromsmartfieldinstrumentsandcentralcontrolormonitoringsystems.

HARTCommunicationoccursbetweentwoHARTenableddevices,typicallyasmartfielddeviceandacontrolormonitoring
system.Communicationoccursusingstandardinstrumentationgradewireandusingstandardwiringandtermination
practices.

TheHARTProtocolprovidestwosimultaneouscommunicationchannels:the420mAanalogsignalandadigitalsignal.The
420mAsignalcommunicatestheprimarymeasuredvalue(inthecaseofafieldinstrument)usingthe420mAcurrentloop
thefastestandmostreliableindustrystandard.Additionaldeviceinformationiscommunicatedusingadigitalsignalthat
issuperimposedontheanalogsignal.

Thedigitalsignalcontainsinformationfromthedeviceincludingdevicestatus,diagnostics,additionalmeasuredor
calculatedvalues,etc.Together,thetwocommunicationchannelsprovidealowcostandveryrobustcompletefield
communicationsolutionthatiseasytouseandconfigure.

Figure 2. Two Communication Channels

TheHARTProtocolprovidesforuptotwomasters(primaryandsecondary).Thisallowssecondarymasterssuchas
handheldcommunicatorstobeusedwithoutinterferingwithcommunicationsto/fromtheprimarymaster,i.e.
control/monitoringsystem.

Figure 3. Primary and Secondary Masters

TheHARTProtocolpermitsalldigitalcommunicationwithfielddevicesineitherpointtopointormultidropnetwork
configurations:


Figure 4. Point-to-Point Configuration

MultidropConfiguration
Thereisalsoanoptional"burst"communicationmodewhereasingleslavedevicecancontinuouslybroadcastastandard
HARTreplymessage.Higherupdateratesarepossiblewiththisoptionalburstcommunicationmodeanduseisnormally
restrictedtopointtopointconfiguration.

Figure 5. Multidrop Configuration

BenefitsofUsingHARTCommunication
Engineersoperatinginanalogautomationenvironmentsnolongerneedutterthewords"ifonly"asin"ifonlyIcouldget
thedeviceinformationwithoutgoingintothefield"or ifonlyIcouldgetthisconfigurationinformationfromthat
pressuretransmitterintomyPC."

UsersworldwidewhohaverealizedthebenefitsofHARTCommunicationknowthattheycangainquick,easyvisibilityto
devicesinthefieldwhenusingHARTenabledhandheldtest,calibrationdevicesandportablecomputers.Infact,device
testing,diagnosticsandconfigurationhasneverbeeneasier!
However,manyhaveyettorealizeHARTtechnologysgreatestbenefitswhichcomefromfulltimeconnectionswithreal
timeassetmanagementand/orcontrolsystems.
HARTtechnologycanhelpyou:

Leveragethecapabilitiesofafullsetofintelligentdevicedataforoperationalimprovements.

Gainearlywarningstovariancesindevice,productorprocessperformance.

Speedthetroubleshootingtimebetweentheidentificationandresolutionofproblems.

Continuouslyvalidatetheintegrityofloopsandcontrol/automationsystemstrategies.

Increaseassetproductivityandsystemavailability.

IncreasePlantAvailability

Integratedevicesandsystemsfordetectionofpreviouslyundetectableproblems.

Detectdeviceand/orprocessconnectionproblemsrealtime.

Minimizetheimpactofdeviationsbygainingnew,earlywarnings.

Avoidthehighcostofunscheduledshutdownsorprocessdisruptions.

ReduceMaintenanceCosts

Quicklyverifyandvalidatecontrolloopanddeviceconfiguration.

Useremotediagnosticstoreduceunnecessaryfieldchecks.

Captureperformancetrenddataforpredictivemaintenancediagnostics.

Reducesparesinventoryanddevicemanagementcosts.

Improveregulatorycompliance

Enableautomatedrecordkeepingofcompliancedata.

Facilitatesautomatedsafetyshutdowntesting.

RaiseSIL/safetyintegritylevelwithadvanceddiagnostics.

Takeadvantageofintelligentmultivariabledevicesformorethorough,accuratereporting.

ThestandardfeaturesofHARTtechnologyrangefromsimplecompatibilitywithexisting420mAanalognetworkstoa
broadproductselection:

Compatibilitywithstandard420mAwiring

Simultaneoustransmissionofdigitaldata

Simplicitythroughintuitivemenudriveninterfaces

Riskreductionthroughahighlyaccurateandrobustprotocol

Easeofimplementationformaximumupfrontcosteffectiveness

Broadproductselection,withcompatibledevicesandsoftwareapplicationsfrommostprocessautomation
providers

Platformindependenceforfullinteroperabilityinmultivendorenvironments

Worldwidesupportbyleadingsuppliers
Mostoftheworldsleadingprocessinstrumentationandcontrolsystemsuppliers,comprisingmostoftheindustrys
solutions,activelysupportHARTtechnology.Thereare990+registereddevicesin20devicecategoriesmanufacturedby
230+membersoftheHARTCommunicationFoundation.
TypesofHARTenabledDevices
DeviceCategory
Actuator
Analytical
Calibrator
Control
DCS
Density
DevelopmentServices&Tools
Flow
Handheld
I/OSystem
ISBarrier
Isolators(IS)
Level
Modem
ModemIC(chips)
Loopmonitor
Multiplexer/Gateway
PositionersValve
PressureTransmitters
Software
Total

No.ofCompanies
2
29
4
3
4
5
8
24
8
11
7
5
34
8
1
3
7
16
37
14
238

No.ofDevices
9
152
6
6
4
5
25
159
9
32
25
46
153
15
3
6
7
47
110
25
990

ForacompletelistbyManufacturerorDeviceType,seeourProductCatalog.

BenefitsofUsingHARTCommunication
Engineersoperatinginanalogautomationenvironmentsnolongerneedutterthewords"ifonly"asin"ifonlyIcouldget
thedeviceinformationwithoutgoingintothefield"or ifonlyIcouldgetthisconfigurationinformationfromthat
pressuretransmitterintomyPC."
UsersworldwidewhohaverealizedthebenefitsofHARTCommunicationknowthattheycangainquick,easyvisibilityto
devicesinthefieldwhenusingHARTenabledhandheldtest,calibrationdevicesandportablecomputers.Infact,device
testing,diagnosticsandconfigurationhasneverbeeneasier!
However,manyhaveyettorealizeHARTtechnologysgreatestbenefitswhichcomefromfulltimeconnectionswithreal
timeassetmanagementand/orcontrolsystems.
HARTtechnologycanhelpyou:

Leveragethecapabilitiesofafullsetofintelligentdevicedataforoperationalimprovements.

Gainearlywarningstovariancesindevice,productorprocessperformance.

Speedthetroubleshootingtimebetweentheidentificationandresolutionofproblems.

Continuouslyvalidatetheintegrityofloopsandcontrol/automationsystemstrategies.

Increaseassetproductivityandsystemavailability.

IncreasePlantAvailability

Integratedevicesandsystemsfordetectionofpreviouslyundetectableproblems.

Detectdeviceand/orprocessconnectionproblemsrealtime.

Minimizetheimpactofdeviationsbygainingnew,earlywarnings.

Avoidthehighcostofunscheduledshutdownsorprocessdisruptions.

ReduceMaintenanceCosts

Quicklyverifyandvalidatecontrolloopanddeviceconfiguration.

Useremotediagnosticstoreduceunnecessaryfieldchecks.

Captureperformancetrenddataforpredictivemaintenancediagnostics.

Reducesparesinventoryanddevicemanagementcosts.

Improveregulatorycompliance

Enableautomatedrecordkeepingofcompliancedata.

Facilitatesautomatedsafetyshutdowntesting.

RaiseSIL/safetyintegritylevelwithadvanceddiagnostics.

Takeadvantageofintelligentmultivariabledevicesformorethorough,accuratereporting.

ThestandardfeaturesofHARTtechnologyrangefromsimplecompatibilitywithexisting420mAanalognetworkstoa
broadproductselection:

Compatibilitywithstandard420mAwiring

Simultaneoustransmissionofdigitaldata

Simplicitythroughintuitivemenudriveninterfaces

Riskreductionthroughahighlyaccurateandrobustprotocol

Easeofimplementationformaximumupfrontcosteffectiveness

Broadproductselection,withcompatibledevicesandsoftwareapplicationsfrommostprocessautomation
providers

Platformindependenceforfullinteroperabilityinmultivendorenvironments

Worldwidesupportbyleadingsuppliers
Mostoftheworldsleadingprocessinstrumentationandcontrolsystemsuppliers,comprisingmostoftheindustrys
solutions,activelysupportHARTtechnology.Thereare990+registereddevicesin20devicecategoriesmanufacturedby
230+membersoftheHARTCommunicationFoundation.
TypesofHARTenabledDevices
DeviceCategory
Actuator

No.ofCompanies
2

No.ofDevices
9

Analytical
Calibrator
Control
DCS
Density
DevelopmentServices&Tools
Flow
Handheld
I/OSystem
ISBarrier
Isolators(IS)
Level
Modem
ModemIC(chips)
Loopmonitor
Multiplexer/Gateway
PositionersValve
PressureTransmitters
Software
Total

29
4
3
4
5
8
24
8
11
7
5
34
8
1
3
7
16
37
14
238

152
6
6
4
5
25
159
9
32
25
46
153
15
3
6
7
47
110
25
990

ForacompletelistbyManufacturerorDeviceType,seeourProductCatalog.

DeviceDescriptionLanguage(DDL)&DeviceDescriptions(DDs)
WhatisaDeviceDescription?
ADeviceDescriptionorDDisanelectronicdatafilepreparedinaccordancewith
DeviceDescriptionLanguagespecificationsthatdescribesspecificfeaturesand
functionsofadeviceincludingdetailsofmenusandgraphicdisplayfeaturestobe
usedbyhostapplications(includinghandhelddevices)toaccessallparametersand
datainthecorrespondingdevice.
DDLibrary
TheHARTCommunicationFoundationmanagesalibraryofManufacturerDevice
Descriptions.DDLibraryupdatesarereleasedeveryquarter.DDLibrarysubscription
servicesareopentoallHARTCommunicationFoundationmembers.

IndividualDDsareavailablefordownloadfromtheProductCatalogsectionofthiswebsite.AllDDsareinbinaryformat
andaresupportedonlybyapplicationsthatsupportbinaryformat.
ViewlatestreleaseoftheDDLibrary

DDLUseandBenefits
WhatDD'sReallyDo?
TheHARTProtocoloperatesinahost/slaveenvironmentwhereaninstrumentisqueriedandrespondstoahost.HARThas
acommandstructurethatallowsdevicemanufacturersagreatdealoflatitudeondesigningadevice.AllHARTdevices
musthaveaminimumcommandsetinordertobecompliant.ThesecommandsarecalledUniversalcommands.Devices

mayalsohaveanumberofoptionalcommandscalledCommonPracticeCommands,Manydevicesimplement
manufacturerspecificcommandscalledDeviceSpecificCommands.TheDDallowsaccesstoallcommands.DDawarehost
systemscanthenusethedataanddisplayitastheuserdesires.
DeviceDescriptionLanguage(DDL)isalanguagetodescribedevices.Adevicedescription(DD)iscreatedasatextfileand
thentranslatedintoastandardbinaryfile.SimilartothepresentationofHTMLthatisindependentofanoperatingsystem
andbrowser,aDDisdisplayedwithaDDapplication.
DeviceIntegration
TheDDwillbedevelopedbythedevicemanufactureroraservicepartner.DDsaredistributedbytheHART
CommunicationFoundationonadiskandviatheinternet(download).
BenefitofDDsfor...

...customer

...devicemanufacture

Suitableforsimpleandcomplexdevices

unified:

Userinterface

EfficientdevelopmentoftheDDEasytolearn(device

Userguidance

developercanimplementtheDDbyhimself)

Multilanguagesupport

TheDDandthedevicecanbetestedwiththeDD

Deviceintegration

application

Consistentonlinedevicehelp

Lowcostforusertraining

Safeoperation

Availableformanydevices

ProtectionofInvestment

Onetoolforalldevicesandallusages

Validationofallinputs

Highlevelofquality

Lowcostformaintenance

Reductionofoverallcosts

ProtectionoftheInvestment

StableDDstandard
Operatingsystemindependent
Easytoexpand

Reductionofcost

TheDDwillofferseveralbenefitsthroughoutthelifecycleoftheplant.
Engineering

Configuringofnetworks,gatewaysandRemoteI/Os

Export/Importofdevicedata

Upload/Download

Offlineconfiguring

Comparisonofparameter

Commissioning

Addresssetting

Visualizationofprocessdata

Simulation

Calibration,Adjustment

Onlineconfiguring

Identificationofdevicesforalifelist

Runtime

Displayingdeviceanddiagnosticstates

Supportofdeviceexchange

Identificationcheck

AssetManagement

Devicestateformaintenance,repairandfaultremoval

UserProfiles

Forthemaintenanceengineerreducedaccesstothedeviceparameters

Forthespecialistfullaccesstothedeviceparameters

Fordevicespecificuserprofiles

OnlineHelpandDocumentation

Variables,Dialogs,Methods

Valueranges,defaultvalues,units

CatalogandeCommerce

OrderInformation

Processconnection

InformationaboutManufacturer

UsageofdeviceswhicharedescribedwithDDL

Manufactureandprocessindustry

Maintenance,repairandfaultremovalintheplantorshopfloor

Largeinstallationsandsingledeviceusage

Simpletocomplexdevices

ConfigurationofnetworkandPCs

ClassesofDevices:

Sensorse.g.forpressure,temperature,flow,level,gasandliquidanalysis

Actorse.g.positioners,switchgears,closeloopcontroller,motormanagementsystems

RemoteI/Os

Gatewayswithstandardcommunicationprotocols

EnhancedDDLFeatures
TheDDLenhancementsincludeimproveddatavisualizationanddisplaycapabilitieslikewaveformsandvalvesignatures,
astandardizedmethodtoaccesshistoricmeasurementordeviceperformanceinformationandenhancedtoolsforhigh
levelinformation(suchasalgorithmicrelationshipsforcomplexdeviceparameters)displayanduseinhostsystems.
DDLenhancementsincludeanimproveduserinterfacewithsupportformenus(windows,tabsandgroups)andadded
graphicsupportforgraphs,chartsanddialindicators.TheenhancedDDLfurtherstandardizestheuserinterfacefor
managingintelligentdevicesandeliminatestheneedforWindowsresourcefiles,supplementalfiles,andotherDD
modificationspreviouslyrequiredbysomeassetmanagementapplications.
DescriptionoftheData
itispossibletodescribedeviceparametersandparametersforadditionalinformationintheDD.Thefollowingdatatypes
aresupported:floatingpointandfixpointnumbers,enumerations,byteandbitarrays,date,time,text,etc.TheDD
elementsCOLLECTION,BLOCK,ARRAY,ITEM_ARRAYandRECORDareusedtorepresentthedevicemodelanddata
structures.

DescriptionoftheCommunication
IntheDDcommunicationcommand,errorhandling,errortexts,theorderofthecommandsandthetimingconditionsare
described.
The DD Application provides possibilities for the communication. E.g. point to point communication,
communication via a gateway, communication via a automation system. An example for a gateway
communication is the communication to a HART device via a Remote I/O. This communication protocol is defined
in the HART on PROFIBUS PROFIBUS specification.


Openfordiverseuse
Inadditiontodefiningdeviceparameters,theDDallowstodescribeinformationforcatalog,ecommerceandasset
managementsystems.

Thedescriptionoftheuserinterfacecanbeusedtogenerateauserinterfacee.g.onPCsorhandheldcomputers.
AdditionalFeaturesoftheDDL

MethodscanbeimplementedintheprogramminglanguageCfortransformations,sequencesofoperations,
dependences

MultilanguagesupportintheDDandinseparatedictionaries

DDLsupportsthecompleteorpartialuseofotherDDsandreuseofownelements

ItcanuselibrariesofDDsforstandardbehaviorsanddeviceprofileimplementations

ACPreprocessorDDLsupportsmacros,Includefiles,compilerswitches,etc.

Thebehaviorandstructureoftheuserinterfaceandvariablescanbecontrolledatruntimewithconditional
expressions

HARTSpecifications
TheHARTProtocolwasdevelopedinthelate1980'sandtransferredtotheHARTFoundationintheearly1990's.Sincethen
ithasbeenupdatedseveraltimes.Whentheprotocolisupdated,itisupdatedinawaythatensuresbackward
compatibilitywithpreviousversions.ThecurrentversionoftheHARTProtocolisrevision7.3.The"7"denotesthemajor
revisionlevelandthe"3"denotestheminorrevisionlevel.
TheHARTProtocolimplementslayers1,2,3,4and7oftheOpenSystemInterconnection(OSI)7layerprotocolmodel:
TheHARTPhysicalLayerisbasedontheBell202standard,usingfrequencyshiftkeying(FSK)tocommunicateat1200bps.
Thesignalfrequenciesrepresentingbitvaluesof0and1are2200and1200Hzrespectively.Thissignalissuperimposedata
lowlevelonthe4to20mAanalogmeasurementsignalwithoutcausinganyinterferencewiththeanalogsignal.

TheHARTDataLinkLayerdefinesamasterslaveprotocolinnormaluse,afielddeviceonlyreplieswhenitisspokento.
Therecanbetwomasters,forexample,acontrolsystemasaprimarymasterandahandheldHARTcommunicatorasa
secodarymaster.Timingrulesdefinewheneachmastermayinitiateacommunicationtransaction.Upto15ormoreslave
devicescanbeconnectedtoasinglemultidropcablepair.
TheNetworkLayerprovidesrouting,endtoendsecurity,andtransportservices.Itmanages"sessions"forendtoend
communicationwithcorrespondentdevices.
TheTransportLayer:TheDataLinkLayerensurescommunicationsaresuccessfullypropagatedfromonedevicetoanother.
TheTransportLayercanbeusedtoensureendendcommunicationissuccessful.
TheApplicationLayerdefinesthecommands,responses,datatypesandstatusreportingsupportedbytheProtocol.Inthe
ApplicationLayer,thepubliccommandsoftheprotocolaredividedintofourmajorgroups:
1.

UniversalCommandsprovidefunctionswhichmustbeimplementedinallfielddevices

2.

CommonPracticeCommandsprovidefunctionscommontomany,butnotallfielddevices

3.

DeviceSpecificCommandsprovidefunctionsthatareuniquetoaparticularfielddeviceandarespecifiedbythe
devicemanufacturer

4.

DeviceFamilyCommandsprovideasetofstandardizedfunctionsforinstrumentswithparticularmeasurement
types,allowingfullgenericaccesswithoutusingdevicespecificcommands.