Emulation platform for coexistence analysis in wireless automation

Wireless solutions in industrial automation applications must meet high requirements regarding reliability and latency. The preferred usage of the license-free 2.4 GHz ISM frequency band bears the risk of error-prone coexistence of various wireless networks within a production site and could result in system failures. This represents a significant barrier for the integration of a new wireless application into a production environment with existing wireless infrastructure. In this paper we present an emulation platform for analyzing the coexistence of these two wireless systems. This analysis is carried out at a test site to avoid any unnecessary interference impact on the existing wireless infrastructure. This setup has the potential to detect possible coexistence problems during the design phase of the projected wireless network. Thus, this emulation platform speeds up the installation and prevents system shutdowns due to failures of the wireless infrastructure.