Ethernet wired communication solutions (PROFINET, EtherCAT, etc.) are used today for industrial and closed-loop applications. However, they do not scale well, are difficult to install/maintain, and lack flexibility for applications that use mobile machinery/robots which are important for future smart factories and Industry 4.0.

We have developed a real-time, industrial wireless communication IP (compliant with WiFi IEEE 802.11a).

• The IP can be configured to trade-off between network density, bandwidth and latency.

• In a real-time oriented configuration, bounded latency is as low as 100 us (one order of magnitude smaller than theoretical value expected in future URLLC-5G networks). This is suitable for closed-loop control systems.

• In a performance oriented configuration, data rate is >8 Mbps (depending on the scheduler configuration). This is suitable for streaming applications.

• The measured packet error rate, even in non-line-of-sight conditions, is in the range of 10^-7 (6m-12 m distance) and below 5⋅10^-6 (>23 m). Reliability can be further enhanced if packet retransmission is enabled.

• Developed and tested on a Xilinx FPGA.

• Patent pending.

For more information: https://cutt.ly/nyiMlck

The IP is suitable for use in sensor fusion and real-time industrial applications as well as vehicular and vehicle-to-infrastructure critical communications. The IP could also be used in mixed-criticality applications that need to combine medium to high data rate and critical traffic with bounded latency. We believe the invention would be of interest for companies developing SoCs for industry and OEMs manufacturing that manufacture parts for mobile robots and industrial equipment, among others.

We are looking for licensing deals, as well as collaborations for the upcoming TETRAMAX TTX calls.

Licence deal can include support to adapt the IP to customer’s specific application requirements.