Wireless technology is gradually becoming an important direction for network development and application in the future industrial Internet

Germany's "Industry 4.0 R&D White Paper" and "Industry 4.0 Implementation Strategy and Reference Architecture" both regard wireless technology as an important part of the research and innovation of Industry 4.0 network communication technology. Among them, Wi-Fi, NFC, zigbee, 2G/3G/4G, LORA and other wireless technologies have become important technologies for connecting the transmission layer.

The industrial communication methods at each level are slightly different. The five-level hierarchical architecture has different communication methods at each level. Considering the differences in responsibilities and missions assigned to each level, the industrial communication methods are also different.

At the ERP and MES layers, the interconnection is mainly through routers, industrial Ethernet and buses. There are not many changes in the current network communication.

At the control layer, the main communication methods are PROFIBUS, MODEBUS, industrial Ethernet and fieldbus, etc.:

At the sensing layer, the main communication methods are field bus, wireless network, LTE, ZIGBEE, WIFI, and LORA. Due to the mobility of the equipment, wireless communication networks are widely used.

At present, wireless technology is gradually becoming an important direction for network development and application in the future industrial Internet due to its advantages such as easy deployment, low construction cost and wide applicability.

Wireless network, as the name implies, is a network data transmission system that uses radio waves instead of cables to achieve location-independent computer equipment. It is an important direction for the development of modern data communication systems. With the mutual penetration and combination of computer network technology, wireless technology and intelligent sensor technology, a new concept of networked intelligent sensors based on wireless technology has emerged. This networked intelligent sensor based on wireless technology enables industrial site data to be directly transmitted, published and shared on the network through wireless links. Wireless communication technology can provide high-bandwidth wireless data links and flexible network topology structures for communication between various intelligent field devices, mobile robots and various automation equipment in factory environments. It effectively makes up for the shortcomings of wired networks in some special environments and further improves the communication performance of industrial control networks.

Take the wireless street lights in smart cities as an example. Through ZigBee or LoRa, there is no need to modify the lamps, set up communication lines, modify the power distribution cabinets, and build a huge machine room for analysis and control based on the cloud platform. Whether it is renovation or new construction, wireless is better than wired in terms of construction, cost, later scalability, maintenance, etc. By 2020, there will be more than 50 billion wireless terminals in the world. In the future, more and more application scenarios of industrial communications will be wireless.