Controlling operation and timings in distributed sensor networks with wireless components

In this paper we describe an approach to provide over-the-air operation configuration capabilities and end-to-end operation timing monitorization and control in networked control systems (NCS) with wireless sensor network (WSN) components. The idea is to deploy wireless sensor networks to cover regions of the factory premises, plugging each into a NCS through a gateway, then configuring nodes for operation using simple commands, as opposed to programming and uploading every node. The system should also provide deterministic timing control. In this paper we describe the configuration approach and timing planning, then we show the configuration user interface and operation timing monitoring results.