Invitation to Shape the Future

HART Protocol 7.10 Specification Ballot – We Need Your Insights!

 

Notice and Call for Disclosure of Conflicting IPR 

Deadline: January 19, 2026

 

FieldComm Group distributed a HART Protocol 7.10 Specification ballot to all voting members earlier today. While only your company's voting contact can submit a vote for this ballot, all FieldComm Group members are welcome to review and submit their comments. Please see the ballot details and instructions on how to submit comments below.

Summary

The proposed enhancements for HART 7.10, while beneficial and some even potentially profound, do not share a common technical theme.  There are general improvements to the Protocol (e.g., Digital Write Protect), to HART-IP (DiffServ, mDNS+DNS-SD). In addition, SafeHART is a significant improvement in of its own.

 

Development of each proposed improvement is discussed individually in the subsections below.

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Ballot Details

HART Protocol 7.10 Specifications includes the following updates. 

 

This ballot proposes enhancements to seven Specifications and the addition of three new Device Family Specification:


Network Management ( TS20085 r4.1 )
Command Summary ( TS20099 r11.1 )
Common Practice Command ( TS20151 r14.0 )
Device Families  ( TS20151 r3.0 )
Temperature Device Family ( TS20160-04 r3.0 )
(New) Pressure Device Family ( TS20160-05 r1.0 )
PID Control Device Family ( TS20160-07 r2.0 )
(New) Totalizer Device Family ( TS20160-10 r1.0 )
(New) Modulating Final Control Device Family ( TS20160-15 r1.0 )
Block Transfer ( TS20190 r2.0 )

 

Major Improvements

Upon membership approval, these specifications will constitute HART 7.10. The proposed specifications consists of the following major improvements:

  • Simplified release process for Device Family and Block Transfer specifications enabling the promulgation of 5 device family specifications 
  • Modulating Final Control Family supporting a wide range of actuator types for final control elements.  Includes innovative Override support for performing maintenance on the control element.
  • Extensive clarification and guidance for implementing compliant data caching in HART-IP I/O Systems.
  • Fine-tuned and clarified SafeHART requirements and procedures based on developer feedback and recommendations from exida IEC 61508 assessment 
  • Clarified use of Device Variable Classification codes throughout the Protocol and retired code 0 "Not Yet Classified" that was included for HART 5 backward compatibility.  

 

This is an important maintenance release incorporating "lessons learned" gathered over the last 3+ years.  In addition, per our standard practice, editorial improvements, clarifications and corrections were made as part of the general review of the specifications. 

 

Network Management r4.1

Based on feedback from member company developers, two areas of the the Network Management specification have proposed improvements:  HART-IP I/O System Caching (Subsection 10.1.1) clarifications and SafeHART (Section 11).  

  • Extensive guidance and clarification are provided to HART-IP I/O Systems caching requirements.  Subjects include Delayed Response transactions, caching dynamic (process) data, stale data calculations, and refreshing the cache.
  • Improvements to SafeHART requirements clarify and correct ambiguities identified by developers.  In addition, a minor alignment was made based on feedback received during the IEC 61508 assessment / certification. 

 

Command Summary r11.1

This minor revision was primarily made to rationalize requirements and use of Device Variable Classification codes

  • Clarified use of Device Variable Classification codes and requirements for special requirements for Volumetric Flow Classification codes
  • Classification code 0 "Not Yet Classified" was included for HART 5 backward compatibility and has been retired.  Classification code 0 shall not be used in new Device Types or in Device Revisions

Common Practice Command r14.0

To improve the orthogonality of the Protocol, Command Command 554 "Read Instrument Type Code" is added. Consequently, aside from this major change, the proposed improvements to the Common Practice Commands solely consist of clarifications:

  • Clarified dependencies between Common Practice Commands and corresponding implementation requirements.
  • Improved the wording of Commands 71 and 76 to clarify the function of securing host exclusive access to a field device.
  • Clarified that engineering units in Command 79 must match the Device Variable units.  This eliminates ambiguities associated with unit code classification. 

Device Families r3.0

Common Practice Practice commands are general purpose and are applicable to a wide range of device types and device variables.  Device Families expands interoperability from the general to specialization by measurement (and control).    

 

This major revision simplifies the promulgation of Device Family specifications by adopting the FieldComm Group best practices (balloting). These simplifications enable promulgation of 5 proposed Device Families.


Temperature Device Family r3.0

Temperature is one of the original Device Families and supports the parameters and commands to support Temperature measurement. This revision enhances the Temperature family as follows  

  • Introduces two new commands for supporting for custom RTD Resistances and adds the new data item "RTD Resistance" to Command 1025.
  • Adds additional Temperature Probe Types to Table 3.
  • Adds "Probe Short Detected" to Device Variable Status status.

Pressure Device Family r1.0

(New). The Pressure Device Family principally allows the configuration of a pressure measurement to be determined.  The properties are common to many pressure applications including static pressure, differential pressure (e.g. to measure flow) and liquid level applications.  
  

PID Device Family r2.0

PID is one of the original Device Families and defines the mandatory and optional properties required to configure and operate a simple PID controller. This revision clarifies

  • Operation of Unit Code Classifications 
  • Applying the input and output ranging functions
  • Operation of PID co-located in Actuators.

Totalizer Device Family r1.0

(New) This Device Family integrates a flow (mass, volumetric, power, etc.) rate to produce the Total transferred by the connected Flow.  That Flow is integrated to increment or decrement the Total. Using the Totalizer Preset action facilitates using the Totalizer Device Family in batching applications.  


MFC Device Family r1.0

(New) The Modulating Final Control Device Family provides a simple modulated analog output used to control the connected process. Examples of potential physical elements include heaters, servo-motors, linear actuators, valves, variable speed drives, etc. In addition, the Device Family is designed to be compatible with the PID Control Device Family.


Block Transfer r2.0

This major revision simplifies and streamlines promulgation of port specification while aligning with the FieldComm Group best practices (balloting).
 

IPR Disclosure

In addition, this announcement also serves as the Official Notice and Call for Disclosure of “any Private Intellectual Property Rights, existing under the law of any nation, owned by either a member or non-member that would conflict, legally bar or adversely affect application or implementation of the proposed Specification in any commercial products."

 

To report the existence of any IPR that may conflict with the proposed specification, please go to our Support Portal and submit a ticket (choose "IPR Notification" from the drop down menu) within a 90-day period.

Review and Comment Instructions

While only your company's voting contact can submit a vote on this ballot, ALL FieldComm Group members are welcome to review and submit their comments. To submit your comments, please follow these simple steps:

  1. Review the proposed specification. Download the specification from: https://workspace.fieldcommgroup.org/higherlogic/ws/groups/46c7ef96-2780-44c6-97b7-f7024375f859/documents?folder_id=2528

    You will need to create an account on FieldComm Group Workspace if you don't have one, to access the specification.
     
  2. Submit comments:
    While the Primary Voter is responsible for submitting an official ballot, anyone in your company can submit comments for the proposed technical specification: https://workspace.fieldcommgroup.org/higherlogic/ws/groups/46c7ef96-2780-44c6-97b7-f7024375f859/documents?folder_id=2528

    Once you are on the page, please click on the arrow next to the DOWNLOAD button and choose ADD A COMMENT.
     
  3. Submit your comments by January 19, 2026.

 

Have questions?
Please contact us: https://support.fieldcommgroup.org/