Channel Coding for High Performance Wireless Control in Critical Applications: Survey and Analysis

Demanded by high-performance wireless (WirelessHP) networks for industrial control applications, channel coding should be used and optimized. However, the adopted coding schemes in modern wireless communication standards are not sufficient for WirelessHP applications, in terms of both low latency and high reliability. Starting from the essential characteristics of WirelessHP regarding channel coding, this paper gives a detailed analysis of currently used short packet coding schemes in industrial wireless sensor networks, including seven coding schemes and their possible variants. The metrics employed for evaluation are bit-error rate, packet error rate, and throughput. To find suitable coding schemes from a large number of options, we propose four principles to filter the most promising coding schemes. Based on overall comparison from the perspective of practical implementation, challenges of the available coding schemes are analyzed, and directions are recommended for future research. Some reflections on how to construct specially designed coding schemes for short packets to meet the high reliability and low-latency constraints of WirelessHP are also provided.