BiPS: A real-time-capable protocol framework for wireless networked control systems and its application

In wireless networked control systems (WNCS), sensors, controllers, and actuators exchange data to solve control tasks. Operation of WNCS usually occurs under real-time constraints, in particular regarding synchronicity of value sampling, transmission latencies, and packet losses. This calls for deterministic protocols as well as for real-time-capable implementations of these protocols. In this paper, we present the protocol framework BiPS (Black-burst integrated Protocol Stack), which provides real-time protocol and operating system functionalities, and its implementation on the Imote 2 hardware platform hosting the transceiver CC 2420. Furthermore, we present the application and deployment of BiPS in an industrial environment.