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    Item type:Publication,
    Performance Analysis of the Slot Allocation Handshake in IEEE 802.15.4 DSME
    Wireless mesh networks using IEEE 802.15.4 are getting increasingly popular for industrial applications because of low energy consumption and low maintenance costs. The IEEE 802.15.4 standard introduces DSME (Deterministic and Synchronous Multi-channel Extension). DSME uses time-slotted channel access to guarantee timely data delivery, multi-channel communication, and frequency hopping to mitigate the effects of external interferences. A distinguishing feature of DSME is its flexibility and adaptability to time-varying network traffic and to changes in the network topology. In this paper we evaluate the ability of DSME to adapt to time-varying network traffic. We examine the limits for slot allocation rates for different topologies. The evaluation is performed with openDSME, an open-source implementation of DSME.
    Publicationtype: Conference Paper
      186
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    Item type:Publication,
    openDSME: Reliable Time-Slotted Multi-Hop Communication for IEEE 802.15.4
    (Springer, 2019-05-21) ; ;
    Using wireless sensor and actuator networks in industrial applications promises timely and fine-grained feedback and control of plants. However, these applications call for very high reliability that cannot be fulfilled with contention-based medium access. Therefore, the IEEE 802.15.4 standard was extended with multiple time-slotted as well as frequency-agile medium access techniques. The Deterministic and Synchronous Multi-Channel Extension (DSME) is of particular interest due to its extensive set of standardized methods for distributed slot management. This chapter presents openDSME, a comprehensive implementation of DSME to be used in the OMNeT++ simulator as well as on real-life wireless sensor nodes. The main features of DSME are presented, together with implementation details of openDSME. The chapter concludes with a step-by-step tutorial to get started with openDSME.
    Publicationtype: Journal Article
      164
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    Item type:Publication, Access status: with files ,
    An analytical model for wireless mesh networks with collision-free TDMA and finite queues
    (Springer, 2018-06-14) ;
    Wireless mesh networks are a promising technology for connecting sensors and actuators with high flexibility and low investment costs. In industrial applications, however, reliability is essential. Therefore, two time-slotted medium access methods, DSME and TSCH, were added to the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. They allow collision-free communication in multi-hop networks and provide channel hopping for mitigating external interferences. The slot schedule used in these networks is of high importance for the network performance. This paper supports the development of efficient schedules by providing an analytical model for the assessment of such schedules, focused on TSCH. A Markov chain model for the finite queue on every node is introduced that takes the slot distribution into account. The models of all nodes are interconnected to calculate network metrics such as packet delivery ratio, end-to-end delay, and throughput. An evaluation compares the model with a simulation of the Orchestra schedule. The model is applied to Orchestra as well as to two simple distributed scheduling algorithms to demonstrate the importance of traffic-awareness for achieving high throughput.
    Publicationtype: Journal Article
    Scopus© Citations 3  587  622
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    Item type:Publication,
    A dual-radio approach for reliable emergency signaling in critical infrastructure assets with large wireless networks
    Wireless communications techniques are finding their way into industrial applications, but commercial wireless technologies lack the dependability required for critical applications in very large networks. In many wireless-controlled industrial facilities, safety regulations mandate real-time communications for tasks such as emergency shutdowns. This requires a wireless communications architecture that supports the coexistence of non-real-time and real-time tasks. To address this requirement, this paper proposes an architecture that augments a wireless mesh network with a unidirectional long-range communications system. Various configuration parameters of the system, including its security features, are optimized. Additionally, a physical realization of the architecture is evaluated using a series of experiments, including some performed on a real solar tower power plant. The experimental results demonstrate that the extension of a wireless mesh network with a unidirectional long-range communications system provides safety and scalability for industrial applications while promoting cost effectiveness and energy efficiency.
    Publicationtype: Journal Article
      99
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    Item type:Publication,
    Constructing customized multi-hop topologies in dense wireless network testbeds
    (Springer, 2018) ;
    Testbeds are a key element in the evaluation of wireless multi-hop networks. In order to relieve researchers from the hassle of deploying their own testbeds, remotely controllable testbeds, such as the FIT/IoT-LAB, are built. However, while the IoT-LAB has a high number of nodes, they are deployed in constraint areas. This, together with the complex nature of radio propagation, makes an ad-hoc construction of multi-hop topologies with a high number of hops difficult. This work presents a strategic approach to solve this problem and proposes algorithms to generate topologies with desired properties. The implementation is evaluated for the IoT-LAB testbeds and is provided as open-source software. The results show that preset topologies of various types can be built even in dense testbeds.
    Publicationtype: Conference Paper
      174
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    Item type:Publication,
    A holistic solution for reliable over-the-air software updates in large industrial plants
    (IEEE, 2017-07-24) ; ;
    In cyber-physical systems, such as modern industrial plants, complex software is an essential part that enables cost-effective and flexible operation. However, this complexity increases the probability of problems that only reveal themselves after the deployment. This is even more important if security aspects are involved. Therefore, providing the possibility for software updates is an important building block in the design of industrial plants. This paper presents a holistic concept for software updates in an industrial plant with thousands of wirelessly connected embedded devices. Using wireless technology imposes additional difficulties in terms of data rate, packet size and reliability that have to be addressed in particular. The contribution also includes an analytical model to estimate the time until a new firmware is distributed. Evaluations carried out on hardware as well as in the OMNeT++ simulator demonstrate the applicability and scalability of the proposed approach.
    Publicationtype: Conference Paper
      131
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    Item type:Publication,
    Formal analysis and verification of the IEEE 802.15.4 DSME slot allocation
    Providing dependability is still a major issue for wireless mesh networks, which restrains their application in industrial contexts. The widespread CSMA/CA medium access can provide high throughput and low latency, but can not prevent packet loss due to collisions, especially in very large and dense networks. Time slotted medium access techniques together with a distributed slot management, as proposed by the Distributed Synchronous Multi-channel Extension (DSME) of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, are promising to provide low packet loss, high scalability and bounded end-to-end delays. However, our implementation, openDSME, exposed some weaknesses. While the allocated slots allow for reliable data transmission, the slot management itself is conducted via CSMA/CA and is thus vulnerable to packet loss, eventually leading to an inconsistent slot allocation. This paper uses the UPPAAL framework for formal analysis and verification of the slot management process. The analysis identifies weaknesses of the slot allocation process under communication and node failures. However, it is shown that inconsistencies are eventually resolved and improvements to the procedure are proposed that reduce the negative impact of failed slot allocation procedures significantly.
    Publicationtype: Conference Paper
      67
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    An analytical model for fast and verifiable assessment of large scale wireless mesh networks
    (IEEE, 2015-03) ;
    Ensuring reliability is a key requirement for using wireless mesh networks in industrial applications. Analytical models provide a valuable support in the design of reliable networks, especially for large scale applications, where simulations do not provide the required scalability. This paper proposes an analytical model for multi-hop IEEE 802.15.4 networks that incorporates significant improvements compared to previous models. Comparisons of the model with simulations using the MiXiM framework for OMNeT++ exhibit a very good compliance. The analytical model is therefore adequate for assessment of very large wireless mesh networks. Additionally, the model yields new insights into the characteristics of IEEE 802.15.4 networks, regarding the impact of acknowledgment collisions and the influence of hidden nodes on retransmissions.
    Publicationtype: Conference Paper
      90
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    Holistic online energy assessment: Feasibility and practical application
    Combining energy harvesting with energy-aware scheduling enables perpetually operating sensor networks. The practical realization of this goal yet requires reliable and precise holistic online energy assessment. While the building blocks - assessing residual energy, predicting energy intake, and tracing energy consumption - have been studied in detail, the analysis of their interaction on a real platform has been neglected. This paper answers the question, whether these techniques can be easily joined to give a precise and correct picture of a sensor node's energetic state and behavior. For this purpose, we model the energy flow of a prototype energy-harvesting sensor node and evaluate the joint performance of state-of-the-art energy assessment based on a field test. We verify the system model and show the feasibility of holistic energy assessment, which tolerates small configuration errors, achievable with a combination of generic configuration and online calibration. We also analyze the feasibility of forecasting a node's future energetic state, and find that the presented method gives sufficient results for uniformly distributed consumption profiles.
    Publicationtype: Conference Paper
      33
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    Policies for predictive energy management with supercapacitors
    This paper presents an algorithm to dynamically determine the maximum supported uniform demand for energy of sensor nodes powered by energy harvesters using supercapacitors as energy buffers. Knowledge about the maximum uniform consumption is required to adapt the sensor node's duty cycle or task schedule to achieve uniform, utility-maximizing, and depletion-safe operation. Our algorithm makes use of a supercapacitors' relationship between state-of-charge and voltage, is particularly designed to handle the non-linear system model, and is lightweight enough to run on low-power sensor node hardware. We define three energy policies, evaluate their performance using a real-world solar-harvesting trace, and analyze the influence of the supercapacitor's capacity and errors of the energy forecast.
    Publicationtype: Conference Paper
      30