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.
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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