High-Performance Industrial Wireless: Achieving Reliable and Deterministic Connectivity over IEEE 802.11 WLANs

Abstract

<div>Communication for control-centric industrial applications is characterized by the requirements of very high reliability, very low and deterministic latency and high scalability. This paper proposes a novel solution for providing reliable and deterministic communication, through Wi-Fi, in industrial environments. The proposed solution, termed as HAR<sup>2</sup>D-Fi, adopts hybrid channel access mechanisms for achieving deterministic communication. It also provides temporal redundancy for enhanced reliability. HAR<sup>2</sup>D-Fi implements different medium access control (MAC) designs that build on the standard physical (PHY) layer. Such designs can be classified into two categories: (a) MAC designs with pre-defined (physical) time-slotted schedule, and (b) MAC designs with virtual time-slotted schedule. Performance evaluation, based on analysis and system-level simulations, demonstrates the viability of HAR<sup>2</sup>D-Fi for control-centric industrial applications.</div>

Machine learning based wireless interference estimation in a robotic force-seeking application

“…However, the use of industrial wireless for closed-loop control and robotics applications requires much higher data rates and better coverage than the current IEEE 802.15.5-based wireless technologies. IEEE 802.11-based wireless networks can offer many benefits for industrial communications while, in its current available form, faces the limitations of the lack in determinism and insufficient reliability, due its randomness and contention-based nature [22]. In [22][23][24] and the references therein, multiple solutions are offered for reliable and deterministic communications using IEEE 802.11-based technologies through applying changes to the physical (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) layers.…”

“…IEEE 802.11-based wireless networks can offer many benefits for industrial communications while, in its current available form, faces the limitations of the lack in determinism and insufficient reliability, due its randomness and contention-based nature [22]. In [22][23][24] and the references therein, multiple solutions are offered for reliable and deterministic communications using IEEE 802.11-based technologies through applying changes to the physical (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) layers. Moreover, next generation WLAN, such as IEEE 802.11ax, is based on orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), 7 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ which offers a non-contention-based multiple access scheme and provides additional benefits for industrial communication [25].…”