Towards handover in IWN: a fast data collection technique

Abstract

The communication protocols used in industrial wireless networks are designed to meet requirements of security and reliability in communications. These requirements are guaranteed by techniques like message enciphering and radio frequency interference avoidance. The WirelessHART protocol was the first one developed specifically to meet the needs of industrial applications. WirelessHART networks use centralized control where one element, the network manager, is responsible for configuring, creating and maintaining the network. This feature increases reliability as management conflicts will not occur, but the rout of communications between network manager and field devices may need several hops on the network due to the mesh topology employed in the protocol. Procedures such as joining new devices require the exchange of a series of commands with the network manager, which takes a large period of time to be executed. This paper presents a technique designed for mobile devices aiming the reduction of time needed for the publishing service. The proposed technique favors the use of mobile devices with strict time constraints under the range covered by the wireless network and precedes the study of an efficient handover process. The results present a time comparison between the standard and proposed data collection.