Research in Real-Time Wireless Mesh Networks

The network community has done a lot of research work on wireless mesh networks. Many of them are theoretical. They are validated through simulations or in limited test environments. Wireless mesh in the industrial settings, especially in a process plant, is getting more and more interests. Different from mobile ad hoc meshes in offices or homes, a wireless mesh in a process plant must satisfy real-time requirements, sometimes even hard real-time requirements in which missing a deadline may have catastrophic consequences. Real-time or embedded applications are considered far more difficult than PC based applications. Likewise, real-time wireless network is also very difficult. The time is ripe for the research into industrial wireless mesh networks. Many topics throughout this book are worth studying by the academia. This chapter will re-emphasize some of them. process control industry embrace wireless technology accelerates wireless technology development. The process industrial setting provides a real world test environment for any theories and ideas developed over the past decade by the network research community.