A team of researchers from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) has developed an innovative algorithm for Wi-Fi networks called “Ponte” that can provide communication in industrial environments with a level of reliability comparable to that of wired solutions. This advance will enable wireless communications to be used to control robotic arms and autonomous vehicles, among other applications.
The study, which was recently published in the scientific journal Internet of Things, introduces a mechanism that integrates various advanced functionalities with the aim of closing the gap between wired technologies and Wi-Fi networks. “Enabling reliable wireless communications with limited latency is one of the main challenges of Industry 4.0. With ‘Ponte’, we demonstrate that it is possible to guarantee strict limits on delay and reliability even over Wi-Fi,” explains one of the study's authors, Carlos Barroso Fernández, a member of the research service of the Department of Telematics Engineering at UC3M.
“Ponte” allows a Wi-Fi router to manage transmissions when operating robotic arms, internal transport vehicles, factory drone inspection systems, or industrial devices. The algorithm assigns each robot the times and frequencies at which it must transmit, ensuring that packets arrive with a guaranteed latency of less than eight milliseconds for machinery control, allowing an operator to remotely control a robotic arm or a loading robot. In turn, the results show that this algorithm can be incorporated into new-generation Wi-Fi routers, allowing the industrial sector to reduce costs by dispensing with specific solutions such as 5G or 6G for certain cases.
Reliable and secure communication
“‘Ponte’ guarantees that the robot connection will not suffer any delays in 99.99% of cases. In fact, in our experiments we demonstrated that a single Wi-Fi router can simultaneously serve 40 devices with robotic control, autonomous guidance and interactive video applications, while always maintaining the required reliability performance,” says another of the authors of the research, Jorge Martín Pérez, from the Department of Telematic Systems Engineering at UPM.
This article has been published as part of the PREDICT-6G project, coordinated by UC3M and developed within the framework of the European Union's Horizon Europe programme (GA 101095890). “With this advance, we will be able to create more deterministic networks, i.e., networks that are more resilient, have less delay, and can predict their behaviour. What’s more, all this will be achieved using standard technology in networks that are already deployed,” explains PREDICT-6G project coordinator Antonio de la Oliva, professor in the Department of Telematics Engineering at UC3M and another of the authors of this research.
Video: https://youtu.be/uGG2k3XW9u0