Cognitive radio for industrial wireless sensor networks

Abstract:

Industrial Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks (IWSAN) are composed of a number of sensor nodes which gather environment information. The information is sent through the wireless network to the controller, which analyses it and makes decisions accordingly. Finally, the decisions are transmitted to the actuators to be carried out. These networks offer benefits over wired approaches in terms of lower costs and easier deployments. However, many IWSAN applications are mission-critical and time-critical, such as factory automation, aerospace, automotive or railway close-loop controls, where data delivery is bounded in the time and reliability domains. This means that an error is considered either when a packet is lost or when a packet does not arrive on time.

However, these applications work in industrial environments, which represent a challenge for wireless communications. Shadowing, fading and multipath channels are common in factories, as well as interference from other communication systems or industrial machinery. All of this compromises the requirements demanded by IWSAN.

Cognitive radio (CR) is the technological answer that can overcome the problems of wireless communications in industrial environments. CR is able to be aware of environment information and find and action with a system target, which can be, for instance, mitigate interference or cope with dynamic channel conditions. This technology gives the wireless communication system a greater reliability and robustness, enabling it to ensure the requirements of IWSAN in industrial environments. The goal of this PhD is a CR-based wireless communication system which is able of ensuring the requirements for IWSANs.