Extending CAN bus with ISA100.11a wireless network

a r t i c l e i n f o Keywords: Hybrid network CAN bus ISA100.11a delay characteristic End-to-end delay In this paper, we present a framework for building a hybrid network composed of Controller Area Network (CAN) bus and ISA100.11a industrial wireless network. The end-to-end delay of CAN-ISA100.11a hybrid network is evaluated. One scheme is proposed based on time slot configuration in ISA100.11a to ensure the prioritization hierarchy which is suitable for large packet size, namely priority assurance (PA). Moreover, a comparison between shared time slot and short time slot is evaluated to give insight on which one gives the best performance in CAN-ISA100.11a hybrid network. The delay of the proposed framework is further simulated under interference environment. The traditional wired control networks have been successfully implemented for industrial applications in decades. The ability of traditional wired control networks to provide high speed, high reliability, and bounded delay makes them a popular option to be implemented in industrial plants [1]. However, the wired control networks require infrastructure and space for installation. Adding the new machine to the existing plant using wired control networks often creates new problem of cable routing difficulties and sometimes requires system engineer to redesign the whole cable routing plan. Moreover, the installation and maintenance of cables and connectors are usually much more expensive than the cost of the sensors themselves [2]. Having a wireless network as an alternative in such environments would be exceptionally valuable. Hybrid network of wired and wireless technology has become the hot topic research as a result of increasing demands in applying wireless network for industrial application. Hybrid network introduces different delay characteristics, depending on what technology composes the hybrid network. Bayilmis et al. proposed an inter-working design to enable CAN nodes to communicate over IEEE 802.11b Wireless Local-Area Network (WLAN) using encapsulation method [3]. Similarly, in [4] Ren et al. proposed a design to integrate the CAN bus with Bluetooth. Those related works pointed out the necessity to extend wired control networks with the wireless one to satisfy industrial needs. The work presented in this paper focuses on the integration of wired and wireless networks which can interconnect stationary and mobile devices. More specifically, this work deals with extending CAN bus using ISA100.11a to meet real-time control application requirements in both automotive and industrial control. CAN bus is a serial data communication protocol that provides high reliability and good …