Delay Tolerant Networks in Industrial Applications

Abstract

The control of mobile robots in industrial applications is mostly shared between local control by the robot and remote control by a central control system. The rising autonomy of robots in industrial settings affect the type of messages communicated between the central control system and the mobile robot. Single messages become bigger in size, but more tolerant towards transmission delays. This work examines the possibility of using delay tolerant networking in an industrial application for mobile robots. After defining the emerging requirements, the network is modelled statistically to check the theoretical applicability. An implementation of a delay tolerant network in an industrial application is used to verify the model and evaluate the observed performance. According to the observed performance DTNs are applicable for a wide variety of use cases in industrial applications. The work is concluded by giving a brief overview over future research and the methods that will be prioritized in this future research.