Using Li-Fi to Improve SCADA Communications: Comparative Simulated Study Using OMNet++

Abstract

Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems are vital components of most nation's critical infrastructures. SCADA systems are primarily control systems. They control a wide variety of manufacturing operations. SCADA systems use wireless sensor networks for monitoring, control and inventory to industries and other infrastructures. One of the industrial protocols that is used by the wireless sensors is ZigBee. This standard has advantages such as low power consumption, good coverage area, reliable network structure and easy expansion of the network. But, it has lower data rates, it operates in 2.4GHz band which make it not immune against interference, it is affected by electromagnetic fields. Recently, a new communication technic depends on light communication appears. That new technology is Li-Fi (Light-Fidelity). It uses light emitting diodes (LEDs) for high speed wireless communications, and speeds of over 3 Gb/s. Li-Fi communication has many advantages over RF communications, Li-Fi is faster, interference immune, has wider bandwidth and more secure, these features make the Li-Fi communications the better choice in wireless industrial communications. In this study a suggestion of replacement of the ZigBee protocol as a wireless communication used in industrial field with Li-Fi protocol. The study evaluates the optimum performance of Wireless SCADA that utilizes only IEEE 802.15.4 protocol (which ZigBee is based on), and evaluates the optimum performance of Wireless SCADA that utilizes only the IEEE 802.15.17 protocol (Li-Fi). OMNeT++ simulations are used to measure the end-to-end delay and packet loss from the sensors to the controller and from the controller to the actuators.