Real-Time Emulation and Evaluation of Large-Scale WirelessHART Networks: A Single HIL Transceiver Approach

In this paper, we present our OMNEST-based WirelessHART Hardware-In-The-Loop (WH-HIL) network emulation platform. Leveraging on protocol constraints, it is able to emulate up to 240 motes communicating in real-time with a physical IEC 62591 compliant Gateway (GW) with just a PC connected to a single transceiver via USB, replacing racks upon racks of actual motes normally used for stress-testing. We present key design aspects and protocol considerations that made this implementation possible. Providing various performance metrics, we foresee this low-cost platform will be useful in understanding how WirelessHART networks behave in various deployment layouts, aiding in education as well as in the development of better routing, link scheduling and fault management algorithms. Operating in real-time, it may also serve as a crucial step towards cost-effective realization of digital twins for WirelessHART networks.