Abstract. In the context of the Industry 4.0 initiative, Cyber-Physical Production Systems (CPPS) or Cyber Manufacturing Systems (CMS) can be characterized as advanced networked mechatronic production systems gaining their added value by interaction with the ambient Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). In this context appropriate communication technologies and standards play a vital role to realize the manifold potential improvements in the production process. One of these standards is IO-Link. In 2016 more than 5 million IO-Link nodes have been produced and delivered, still gaining increasing acceptance for the communication between sensors, actuators and the control level. The steadily increasing demand for more flexibility in automation solutions can be fulfilled using wireless technologies. With the wireless extension for the IO-Link standard, which will be presented in this article, maximum cycle times of 5 ms can be achieved with a probability that this limit will be exceeded to be at maximum one part per billion. Also roaming capabilities, wireless coexistence mechanisms and the possibility to include battery-powered or energy-harvesting sensors with very limited energy resources in the realtime network were defined. For system planning, setup, operation and maintenance, the standard engineering tools of IO-Link can be employed so that the backward compatibility with wired IO-Link solutions can be guaranteed. Interoperability between manufacturers is a key requirement for any communication standard, thus a procedure for IO-Link Wireless testing is also suggested.

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In the field of production automation, IO-Link Wireless (IOLW) offers energy-efficient and cost-effective solutions for networking wireless sensors and actuators close to the machines on the industrial shop-floor. In this paper, a concept is presented to enhance IOLW with security-for-safety and safety features in order to make safety critical systems in industrial environments with performance characteristics dedicated to demanding applications feasible. As data security is of paramount importance, security mechanisms already implemented in other wireless protocols are investigated and security-for-safety mechanisms for IOLW are introduced. Potential cryptographic algorithms are evaluated for IOLW with respect to energy consumption and timing. Taking performance parameters into account, which are crucial for industrial manufacturing processes, a safety protocol data unit (SPDU) is described and evaluated for different payload length and cycle times. Finally, an outlook towards the implementation of a demonstrator setup completes this work.

Abstract. A test method for narrowband wireless sensor/actuator networks is presented, facilitating affordable and efficient performance and compliance tests prior to the deployment of the wireless communication systems. Commonly used channel models are examined to derive a worst-case test scenario. Employing frequency/time division multiple access (F/TDMA) techniques and protocol synchronization, a new and efficient test method is suggested, where the equipment under test (EUT) is evaluated under the worst-case scenario. A cost-efficient channel emulator is introduced to emulate fading in multipath environments. Also, industrial interferes can be included in the setup. Furthermore, a procedure to test wireless devices with integrated, non-detachable antennas is presented.

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Abstract:In this article evaluation measurements of a reverberation chamber are presented. Different loading conditions with absorptive material are analyzed on basis of existing standards developed for other wireless applications. In addition to the measurement results a configuration of the reverberation chamber is demonstrated, which is in particular suitable to test wireless sensor/actuator modules for industrial indoor applications.

Modern production concepts generate a demand for reliable, fast and secure wireless communication solutions. Therefore, the current consumption should not increase highly due to additional security operations. This paper shows a principle current measurement method exemplarily of a transceiver for IO-Link Wireless protocol. The results show that the current consumption increases by about 316 µA when using hardware-based encryption features, whereby an experimental standard deviation of the mean values of about 15 µA was determined.