An integrated system simulation approach for wireless networked control systems

Abstract

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), such as networked control systems, are increasingly deployed over wireless networks. Given the sensitivity of control systems to networking conditions such as packet drops, delays and jitters, it is important to verify and evaluate the control system properties under realistic wireless networking deployment scenarios. However, current research is often based on simplistic models of the wireless network physical layer behaviors. In this paper, we point out deficiencies in the existing simulation methods for the performance evaluation of wireless networked control systems and present a novel simulation framework for wireless network control systems. Our approach aims at capturing the effects in the physical layer more accurately than state-of-art simulators are capable of. An integrated simulation tool, based on open-source solutions, is presented and a case study of a networked control system is also provided to illustrate the capabilities of our simulation tool.