Wireless solutions for improving health and safety working conditions in industrial environments

Wireless communications will play a key role in the development of the Factories of the Future. Most applications are initially foreseen to manage and control industrial processes and equipment. However, wireless industrial communications can also have a major impact in improving the workers' health and safety conditions. To demonstrate such impact, this paper presents an heterogeneous wireless industrial testbed and the implementation of two safety use cases (collision avoidance and working at height). The use cases have been tested in a factory where the potential of wireless industrial communications to improve health and safety has been demonstrated.