Adaptive Redundant Wireless Links for Industrial Control Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current industrial automation control networks face challenges in dynamically managing redundancy in wireless communication links, particularly in determining when and how much redundancy is necessary to ensure high reliability and low latency, without requiring new sensing modalities or compromising data security.
Innovation Solution
A control network with a processor and traffic controller that maintains multiple contemporaneous physical connections using wireless network interfaces, adaptively adjusting the level of redundancy based on observed performance metrics like QoS, latency, and reliability, ensuring the most appropriate means of redundancy are used at all times.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple contemporaneous physical connections are maintained to provide redundant connectivity, then communication reliability is improved, but system complexity and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts the physical redundancy of logical connections by repeatedly adjusting the number of physical connections based on observed performance metrics such as QoS, latency, and reliability. This allows the system to maintain optimal redundancy levels without permanently configuring complex multi-connection infrastructure, thereby improving reliability while managing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The traffic controller changes the parameter of physical redundancy by adjusting the number of physical connections maintained to automation devices based on observed network conditions. This parameter adaptation allows the system to optimize communication reliability while avoiding the permanent complexity of fixed multi-connection architectures.
2Reliability
If redundancy is increased to ensure high availability, then communication reliability improves, but latency may increase due to additional processing overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts redundancy levels in response to changing network conditions, maintaining high availability when needed while minimizing latency overhead when conditions permit. This adaptive approach ensures that the system only incurs the latency cost of additional processing when it actually improves reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies redundancy selectively rather than uniformly, maintaining multiple physical connections only when observed performance metrics indicate they are necessary for achieving target reliability levels. This partial application of redundancy minimizes unnecessary processing overhead and latency while ensuring high availability when required.
3Reliability
If the system continuously monitors and adapts redundancy levels, then communication reliability is optimized, but processing overhead and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The traffic controller repeatedly adapts physical redundancy at periodic intervals or in response to triggering events, rather than continuously monitoring and adjusting. This periodic adaptation approach optimizes communication reliability while limiting processing overhead and energy consumption to discrete adjustment cycles rather than constant operation.
4Quantity of substance
If moderate redundancy is applied to meet cost limits, then resource consumption is reduced, but achieving optimal reliability becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts redundancy levels based on observed performance metrics, allowing it to achieve optimal reliability with moderate resource consumption by applying redundancy only when and where it is actually needed. This adaptive approach eliminates the waste of maintaining high redundancy levels during periods when lower redundancy suffices.
Solution Approach 2:
The traffic controller autonomously monitors network conditions and self-adjusts redundancy levels without external intervention, optimizing reliability while managing resource consumption efficiently. This self-service capability allows the system to apply moderate redundancy strategically, achieving optimal reliability without excessive resource consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
A control network for supporting multiple industrial automation devices which operate in radio coverage of at least one radio access network includes: a processor configured to execute applications; at least two wireless network interfaces, each configured to communicate with the automation devices; and a traffic controller configured to provide a logical connection from an executing application to one of the automation devices by maintaining at least two contemporaneous physical connections using respective wireless network interfaces and the radio access network. The control network is further configured to repeatedly adapt a physical redundancy of the logical connection. In some embodiments, the control network is configured to determine a level of independence between the physical connections on the basis of measurements, and adapt the redundancy accordingly. The level of independence may be determined by comparing time series of a quality-of-service related quantity.