Low latency Wi-Fi real-time protocol for agricultural machines synchronization using Linux RT Kernel

The production needs and the more complex working sessions in agricultural field ask for machine cluster in order to achieve a parallel and complete treatment of crops and fields. All heterogeneous or homogeneous machines of the cluster, both in series and in parallel, have to be synchronized to match safety requirements and to comply with task control requirements. The synchronization specifications require a real time wireless communication protocol affordable, safe and with low latency, in order to ensure a minimum guaranteed throughput apt to synchronize the machine work and travel. The paper describes the characteristics of a quasi-isochronous Wireless transmission protocol based on IP/UDP under Linux Operating System and the protocol evolution with respect to what reported in previous work. In this paper the performance, from the throughput and the statistic point of view, is explained in a quantitatively, based on tests performed using a complex and fully automated test rig. A solution based on task and messages priority management is proposed, using new Linux Real Time Kernel standard features explained in and. The obtained test results suggest that the protocol architecture proposed is a promising solution for low latency communication in both industrial and mobile applications.