Software-Defined Wireless Communication for Industrial Control: A Realistic Approach

Wireless communication for industrial applications offers multiple advantages over traditional wired communication, such as reduced installation and maintenance costs, increased flexibility, and better suitability for harsh conditions and mobile environments. However, many industrial applications feature high-performance requirements for latency and reliability, challenges which are difficult are to meet over the wireless channel. Currently available wireless technologies struggle to achieve these requirements, leaving a gap between industry demands and state-of-the-art performance. To close this gap, traditional solutions that rely on general-purpose chipsets could be replaced with dedicated solutions for industrial applications. In this article, we discuss the feasibility of designing an industrial wireless solution based on software-defined radio (SDR), the obtained results, and the role of softwarization in the future of industrial communication.