Control Lab Experiments Investigating Wireless Sensor Connectivity

While many modern devices use wireless technology to exchange data, systems with critical transmissions are still considered to require a wired connection. However, for some of these systems a wired link between the control unit and the sensors is not possible or is considered to be a disruptive. In this case, a wireless transmission standard could be used to replace the wired connection. This would allow for more flexibility in terms of relative positioning as well as broaden potential application areas. Therefore, a cart system used in university control laboratories to teach students real-world implementations of various control algorithms is used as an exemplary physical model. Based on this model different control scenarios of varying complexity levels are implemented, and a newly designed wireless system is evaluated in comparison to simulation and standard wired connection. In addition, the negative effects of wireless technology such as transmission errors or latency problems are investigated with respect to their influence on the control performance. As a result, possible application areas as well as limitations and benefits are presented.