Event-triggered strategies for industrial control over wireless networks (invited paper)

Abstract

New event-based sampling strategies can support the efficient use of radio resources in wireless control systems. Motivated by the recent introduction of wireless network nodes in process control industry, we consider the particular demands these closed-loop systems set on the wireless communication and the influence the communication has on the control performance. In the paper, it is pointed out that by letting sensor nodes transmit only when needed, it is possible to minimize the communication bandwidth utilization in these systems. We show how classical control strategies commonly based on periodic sampling, such as proportional-integral-derivative control and minimum variance control, can be cast in an event-based setting in which decentralized communication decisions are taken suitable for commonly used contention-based medium access control protocols. Event-triggered sampling for estimation is also reviewed. Simulated examples illustrate the results.