Performance optimization for reliable wireless networked control systems in the presence of interference

In this paper, the performance of an expanded controller level (1-out-of-3) fault-tolerant Wireless Networked Control System is studied. The system is composed of three identical workcells with zero meter inter-cell separation and is based on the unmodified IEEE 802.11b Wi-Fi standard. The control system is shown to satisfy certain packet end-to-end delay deadline with no loss of control packets. The interference tolerance of the system is then quantified and ongoing performance optimizations are investigated to improve system interference resilience. All simulations were conducted on OPNET Network Modeler and all subsequent results are subjected to a 95% confidence analysis.