Apprion Adds Video Monitoring to Its ION Product Line

HOUSTON (ISA Expo) - Apprion, a pioneer of industrial wireless application networks designed for the complex needs of process manufacturers, announced that it has added the ION Video Monitoring Application to its Intelligent Operations Network (ION) System, the "industry's only industrial-grade, network-based wireless application system." The new integrated video application makes it easy for industrial plants to quickly and cost effectively add video monitoring of process equipment, plant operations, and remote sites on the same wireless infrastructure as other applications, such as condition monitoring and VoIP. With the ION Wireless Video Monitoring Application, all wireless devices and applications, including IP-based video, can be monitored and managed through a single interface.

Apprion also announced new hazardous environment–rated versions of its IONizer: the IONizer 2100 and 2101 networking appliances with Class I Division 1 compliance approval.

Two of the highest priority issues facing the process manufacturing industry are compliance with increasingly complex regulations and a lack of skilled workers. According to a survey conducted by InTech magazine, 29% of respondents see the aging workforce as their biggest challenge by 2012, while 33% say new state regulations going into effect will present them with challenges. The new additions to the ION System help address both of these challenges. Wireless broadband is currently spreading rapidly across the plant floor for communication and automation, and Apprion's ION System provides an open, scalable, and extensible system for monitoring, managing, and securing wireless devices and applications from multiple vendors. With the addition of an IP-based video application, the ION System provides plants with a secure, reliable, low-cost way to significantly increase automation and satisfy regulatory mandates.

"The Apprion ION System is the first industry solution that lets plant managers easily augment their sensing technologies with visual inspection and extend video to remote sites for increased security and productivty," said Stephen Lambright, CEO of Apprion. "With the addition of the IONizer 2100, we can now cost-effectively extend remote video monitoring to even the most hazardous environments. By using the existing wireless infrastructure to support the needs of multiple departments, including product development, manufacturing, and operations, our vendor-agnostic system enables customers to increase productivity and improve plant communications and security while driving down total cost of ownership."

Key Features of the ION System Video Monitoring Application

  • Integrates view and links to facility cameras

     

  • Monitors the status and network activity of any IP-enabled camera

     

  • Provides archiving and event analysis

     

  • Delivers video-triggered alerts and alarms to notify operators of specific plant events

     

  • Allows remote monitoring and diagnosis of operations through the central IONosphere console

     

  • Enables pan, tilt, and zoom of camera remotely through IONosphere console

Apprion IONizer
Apprion IONizer is the "first industrial wireless network appliance." As part of the Apprion ION System, IONizers cost-effectively integrate and secure previously disparate applications, such as VoIP, video, and condition monitoring, and they allow network managers to enable, restrict, meter, prioritize, and route access to the backhaul wireless network based on policies. The new versions, designed to survive in hazardous environments, include the IONizer 2100, a Class I, Division 1 (nonmining) operation industrial appliance, and the IONizer 2101, an ATEX Zone 1, Category 2 (nonmining) operation industrial appliance.

Availability and Pricing
The Apprion ION System Video Monitoring Application will be available in Q1 2008. The Apprion IONizer 2100 and IONizer 2101 are available immediately. Please contact Apprion for pricing.

About the ION System
Apprion's ION System is a comprehensive wireless application network for use in industrial environments. ION provides an open, scalable, and extensible system for monitoring, managing, and securing multi-vendor wireless devices and applications. To read full product details, please visit the company's Web site.

About Apprion
Apprion delivers wireless application network systems and services designed for the process manufacturing industry. Apprion's ION system provides the "only unified, open, and secure industrial application network for plant managers and their engineering and IT organizations. ION optimizes the manageability and performance of the wireless devices, systems, and networks within plants so that managers gain the highest value possible from information generated by their operational and productivity applications. Apprion's industrial products and services enable the deployment of wireless applications with the lowest total cost of ownership. Customers include market leaders in oil and gas, chemical, and power/utilities.