A TSN-Like Slot-Based Scheduler for Improved Wireless Quality and Platoon Formation in Smart Factories

The platooning of mobile robots, facilitated by Device-to-Device (D2D) communications, has become central in Industry 4.0, enhancing material transport, reducing energy consumption, and improving safety in smart factories. However, as the number of participating robots increases, maintaining effecti...

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Main Authors: Angelo Feraudo, Andrea Garbugli, Paolo Bellavista
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society
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Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10947023/
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author Angelo Feraudo
Andrea Garbugli
Paolo Bellavista
author_facet Angelo Feraudo
Andrea Garbugli
Paolo Bellavista
author_sort Angelo Feraudo
collection DOAJ
description The platooning of mobile robots, facilitated by Device-to-Device (D2D) communications, has become central in Industry 4.0, enhancing material transport, reducing energy consumption, and improving safety in smart factories. However, as the number of participating robots increases, maintaining effective communication and coordination becomes increasingly challenging. Shared spectrum usage in D2D networks can lead to communication collisions, particularly in highly dynamic scenarios, posing significant challenges in industrial environments. This paper introduces a novel slot-based solution inspired by Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) to address these challenges, ensuring reliable, low-latency communication while optimizing resource allocation and communication efficiency in platooning systems. To achieve this, we propose a controller named TSNCtl, operating at the application layer of the network stack. TSNCtl leverages a finite state machine (FSM) to manage platoon formation and employs slot-based scheduling for efficient message dissemination. Using the OMNeT++ simulation framework and INET library, we demonstrate the effectiveness of TSNCtl in reducing packet collisions across a variety of scenarios. Our experimental results highlight a significant improvement over the traditional CSMA/CA baseline employed in Wi-Fi-based protocols such as IEEE 802.11p. For instance, TSNCtl achieves near-zero packet collisions with appropriate configurations, even in highly dynamic environments.
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spelling doaj-art-9fd08910c4f4418cbb50a093897dd87b2025-08-20T03:13:40ZengIEEEIEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society2644-125X2025-01-0163018302810.1109/OJCOMS.2025.355651310947023A TSN-Like Slot-Based Scheduler for Improved Wireless Quality and Platoon Formation in Smart FactoriesAngelo Feraudo0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9727-0861Andrea Garbugli1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1294-0043Paolo Bellavista2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0992-7948Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Bologna, Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Bologna, Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Bologna, Bologna, ItalyThe platooning of mobile robots, facilitated by Device-to-Device (D2D) communications, has become central in Industry 4.0, enhancing material transport, reducing energy consumption, and improving safety in smart factories. However, as the number of participating robots increases, maintaining effective communication and coordination becomes increasingly challenging. Shared spectrum usage in D2D networks can lead to communication collisions, particularly in highly dynamic scenarios, posing significant challenges in industrial environments. This paper introduces a novel slot-based solution inspired by Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) to address these challenges, ensuring reliable, low-latency communication while optimizing resource allocation and communication efficiency in platooning systems. To achieve this, we propose a controller named TSNCtl, operating at the application layer of the network stack. TSNCtl leverages a finite state machine (FSM) to manage platoon formation and employs slot-based scheduling for efficient message dissemination. Using the OMNeT++ simulation framework and INET library, we demonstrate the effectiveness of TSNCtl in reducing packet collisions across a variety of scenarios. Our experimental results highlight a significant improvement over the traditional CSMA/CA baseline employed in Wi-Fi-based protocols such as IEEE 802.11p. For instance, TSNCtl achieves near-zero packet collisions with appropriate configurations, even in highly dynamic environments.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10947023/TSNIndustry 4.0AGVsWi-Fi5G
spellingShingle Angelo Feraudo
Andrea Garbugli
Paolo Bellavista
A TSN-Like Slot-Based Scheduler for Improved Wireless Quality and Platoon Formation in Smart Factories
IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Society
TSN
Industry 4.0
AGVs
Wi-Fi
5G
title A TSN-Like Slot-Based Scheduler for Improved Wireless Quality and Platoon Formation in Smart Factories
title_full A TSN-Like Slot-Based Scheduler for Improved Wireless Quality and Platoon Formation in Smart Factories
title_fullStr A TSN-Like Slot-Based Scheduler for Improved Wireless Quality and Platoon Formation in Smart Factories
title_full_unstemmed A TSN-Like Slot-Based Scheduler for Improved Wireless Quality and Platoon Formation in Smart Factories
title_short A TSN-Like Slot-Based Scheduler for Improved Wireless Quality and Platoon Formation in Smart Factories
title_sort tsn like slot based scheduler for improved wireless quality and platoon formation in smart factories
topic TSN
Industry 4.0
AGVs
Wi-Fi
5G
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10947023/
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