Towards Wireless Communications in Automation: An Overview

Industrial Ethernet networks are well-established communication systems in industrial production facilities. They are used in particular in applications with high demands on real-time capability and transmission reliability. In the context of applications with mobility requirements, such as mobile robots or rotating machine parts, however, they reach their practicable limits. In these cases, wireless communication systems are necessary. In addition to enabling the aforementioned applications, they promise further advantages, such as cost savings through simplified installation. However, the same requirements are placed on wireless systems as on their wired counterparts. This paper structures these requirements’ implications on industrial communication systems by deriving four mandatory properties that need to be fulfilled by any communication system for industrial applications. Current commercially available technologies are reviewed with respect to the mandatory properties. Addressing their shortcomings, an overview of current research approaches aiming to improve industrial wireless systems in the automation applications is given.