Multi-Radio

Monitoring and control systems are strategic elements for the true optimisation of processes in terms of production efficiency and reliability and sustainable energy. To date, the majority of such systems are equipped with sensors and actuators and are based on cabled solutions that place enormous limitations on the option of reconfiguring the product environment. Radio technology, able to deliver flexibility to monitoring and control systems, is a valid alternative to cabled systems.

The proposed communication platform consists of multi-radio nodes that cooperate in order to identify a network intelligence able to promote the opportunistic use of wireless technology with complementary characteristics in terms of data rate, latency, resilience to the radio channel’s conditions, energy consumption and the ability to organise into independent networks. The final aim is to:

• meet the various requirements posed by different sensors and actuators
• identify networks that are more flexible, reliable, resilient and able to adapt to application requirements as they change over time
• to support the energy efficiency of processes and of the monitoring/control system itself.

A prototype made up of multi-radio nodes equipped with special sensors and actuators chosen by the project’s end users will be developed. The multi-radio platform will also be tested in a controlled environment first and then later in situ.