Modular Wireless Client Device with Multi-Radio Redundancy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial settings pose challenges for wireless network deployment due to signal attenuation and blockages from metallic objects and machinery movement, requiring a highly reliable wireless client device that can maintain connectivity with a high degree of reliability.
Innovation Solution
A modular client device with multiple radios that associates with different wireless access points, utilizing packet replication and acknowledgement mechanisms to ensure reliable data transmission, while allowing for flexible configuration based on deployment scenarios and environmental conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If multiple access points are deployed to maximize coverage in industrial settings, then wireless connectivity coverage is improved, but signal attenuation and blockages from metallic objects and machinery still cause transmission reliability to deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The client device segments the wireless communication task across multiple independent radios (e.g., 2-4 radios), each communicating with different access points. This segmentation allows the system to overcome signal blockages by distributing communication paths, so if one path is blocked by metallic objects or machinery, other paths remain available.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements packet replication where multiple copies of the same data packet are transmitted simultaneously through different radios and access points. The receiving end acknowledges receipt upon receiving any single copy, eliminating the need for retransmissions and ensuring reliable delivery even when some transmission paths are blocked by industrial equipment.
2Reliability
If multiple radios are used to associate with different access points for redundancy, then transmission reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple radios into a single client device, integrating them to work cooperatively rather than as separate units. This consolidation manages complexity by providing unified control and coordination of multiple radios within one device architecture, while still achieving the reliability benefits of diverse access point connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically manages radio associations and packet replication, adapting to changing industrial environments where metallic objects and machinery move. The client device can flexibly adjust which radios are active and how packets are replicated across different access points, optimizing reliability without requiring fixed complex configurations.
3Reliability
If packet replication is implemented across multiple access points, then data delivery reliability is improved, but network overhead and energy consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs an acknowledgement (ACK) mechanism where the receiving client device sends feedback to access points upon successfully receiving a replicated packet. This feedback signals other access points to stop transmitting duplicate copies, preventing unnecessary energy consumption while ensuring reliable packet delivery through the replication approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements packet replication with a controlled degree of redundancy - transmitting packets through multiple access points only when needed for reliability, rather than continuously. The acknowledgement mechanism ensures that once a packet is successfully received, further replication stops, avoiding excessive energy consumption while maintaining the reliability benefits where necessary.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a client device having a plurality of radios obtains a list of basic service set identifiers (BSSIDs) for a plurality of wireless access points of a wireless network. The client device associates each of the plurality of radios of the client device with a different wireless access point of the wireless network, based on the obtained list of BSSIDs. The client device receives a copy of a data packet from a particular one of the associated wireless access points. Each of the associated wireless access points receives a replicated copy of the data packet to be transmitted towards the client device. The device causes the associated wireless access points to cease further transmission of their copies of the data packet by acknowledging receipt of the data packet to the particular wireless access point.