FFPA Completes Technical Specifications to Stabilize Various Wireless Communication Systems Co-located in Factory Sites.

FFPA has completed the technical specifications to stabilize various wireless communication systems for factories.
NICT has contributed architecture named Smart Resource Flow (SRF) wireless platform to the specifications.
Adoption of the platform enables stable wireless communications and visualization and integrated management of various information on the manufacturing sites.

Flexible Factory Partner Alliance (FFPA. Chairperson Andreas Dengel) has created the technical specifications that is aiming for various wireless systems co-located in factory sites to operate stably. The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) has proposed Smart Resource Flow (SRF) wireless platform*1 which has been adopted as architecture for the specifications. By adopting this platform, stable wireless communication is realized, making it easy to visualize and interactively manage various information on the manufacturing sites.

The technical specifications define functions and interfaces to provide framework for coordination and coexistence of wireless systems with different standards, of different generations, and by different vendors coexisting in a same factory site.

An overview of the specifications will be presented at the FFPA seminar, “A vision of future factory sites created with the SRF wireless platform ~ Introduction of FFPA technical specifications Version1~” held on October 31 in Tokyo.

* Development of SRF wireless platform by NICT has been supported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Japan for the project entitled “R&D on Technologies to Densely and Efficiently Utilize Radio Resources of Unlicensed Bands in Dedicated Areas” since 2017.

Background

In the factory sites, usage of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is increasing to enhance productivity by flexible operation releasing constrains of shortage of skilled workers and workstyle change nowadays. Especially for use of wireless commutations, voices from factory sites include:

・ Need to monitor conditions of old machines by retrofit wireless sensors.

・ Need to remotely monitor and control moving objects, i.e., human and automated guided vehicles (AGVs).

・ Need to flexible change processes and layouts of factory sites without costly and time-consuming rewiring of cables.

Wireless communication is indispensable methods to cover these needs. More and more wireless systems have been becoming introduced to accompany manufacturing equipment for status monitoring, product inspection, process management, environment sensing, and machine control, and so on.

There are concerns such as communication instabilities that lead to impact on the current equipment due to interference among unlicensed wireless systems where they operate independently and sometimes cannot meet requirements for communications due to degradation of wireless link quality. To address the issues on a technical approach, NICT has proposed the SRF wireless platform to define functions and interfaces among them. FFPA has established since July, 2017 to promote the SRF wireless platform into implementation for use in industries and to make an effort to create the specifications of wireless communications.

Achievements

FFPA has finalized the technical specifications defining functions and interfaces to pursue commercialization based on architecture of the SRF wireless platform proposed by NICT. The specifications enable wireless communication stabilities and facilitate visualization and integrated management of various information on the manufacturing sites.

The technical specifications define functions and interfaces of the SRF wireless platform to provide framework for coordination and coexistence of wireless systems with different standards, of different generations, and by different vendors coexisting in the same factory site.

In the architecture of the SRF wireless platform, Field Manager (i.e. coordinator) manages and controls multiple wireless systems consisting of gateways and wireless terminals with coordination (global control).
The features are:

･ Radio resources of frequency, time and space assigned to each system by setting control policy,

･ Management with cognitive ways of both wireless communications and factory applications, and

･ Monitoring wireless environment on the SRF wireless platform.

In addition, each system is allowed to have autonomous internal control based on the control policy to adapt to rapidly local change in wireless environment (local control).

An overview of the specifications will be presented at the FFPA seminar, “A vision of future factory sites created with SRF wireless platform ~Introduction of FFPA technical specifications Version1~”(https://www.ffp-a.org/news/jp-index.html#20190924a in Japanese)held on October 31 in Tokyo.

Future Prospects

FFPA is developing test specifications for preparation of certification program starting around in the middle of 2020. It also promotes the spread of the SRF wireless platform that enables visualization of various information on the factory site and integrated management of equipment connected to the network for the use of information and communications to improve productivity.

About Flexible Factory Partner Alliance (FFPA)

FFPA (Chairperson: Andreas Dengel, DFKI) is a non-profit organization to promote the formulation of standards for coordination control technology, ensuring stable communications in an environment where various wireless systems coexist in manufacturing facilities. Members are OMRON Corporation, the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR), the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), NEC Corporation, Fujitsu Limited, Sanritz Automation Co., Ltd., Murata Machinery, Ltd, and Siemens K.K.

https://www.ffp-a.org/index.html

Glossary

*1 SRF Wireless Platform

System architecture to stabilize various wireless systems with connected facilities. SRF (Smart Resource Flow) is a system engineering strategy of managing resources (e. g., human, facilities, equipment, materials, energy, and communications) using multilayer system analysis to achieve optimal performance.

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