Towards Reliable and Lightweight Communication in Industrial Wireless Sensor Networks

In this paper we address the issues of timeliness and transmission reliability of existing industrial communication standards. We combine a Forward Error Correction coding schemeon the Medium Access Control layer with a lightweight routing protocol to form an IEEE 802.15.4-conformable solution, whichcan be implemented into already existing hardware without violating the standard. After laying the theoretical foundations,we conduct a performance evaluation of the proposed solution.The results show a substantial gain in reliability and reducedlatency, compared to the uncoded transmissions, as well ascommon Wireless Sensor Network routing protocols.
This work has been submitted to the IEEE for possible publication. Copyright may be transferred without notice, after which this version may no longer be accessible.