IO-Link Wireless : Industrial communication protocol

Sammanfattning: This thesis investigates two aspects of the protocol IO-Link Wireless (IOL-W), a wireless derivative of the widely established network protocol for industry automation IO-Link (IOL). There is an increasing interest in using wireless solutions within the automation industry. The IOL-W protocol is developed to meet the needs of a wireless protocol that can meet the stringent reliability requirements of industrial applications. The first investigated aspect is whether it is feasible to port existing IOL stacks to IOL-W. The second aspect investigates the possibility to establish IOL-W communication using a generic hardware board supporting Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and IEEE 802.15.4, specifically the nRF architecture manufactured by Nordic Semiconductor. The properties and mechanisms of the physical layer of IOL-W are thoroughly researched. Afterward, two open-source IOL stacks are examined as potential candidates for protocol porting. From that examination, the main conclusion is that for a commercial project, it is more feasible to invest in a native IOL-W stack. Porting an IOL stack to IOL-W would be immensely time-consuming since it is not enough only to replace the code responsible for handling the physical layer. One would also need to modify the system management module embedded within every hardware layer. Lastly, the nRF hardware is examined, focusing on its radio capabilities. Several problems arose with the radio configuration and the CRC capability of the nRF boards from the subsequent investigation and experiments; therefore, it is concluded that this particular hardware is inappropriate for implementing IOL-W.