Real-Time Communication Sensor Systems

Dear Colleagues,

Recent advances in wireless communication systems and the development of cost-efficient, yet smart, sensing and actuating devices have led to fast growth in sensor networks and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Applications using real-time sensor systems include environment monitoring, healthcare, logistics, automotive, robotics, energy management systems, and home and industrial smart environments. The requirements typically found in these systems include reliability, scalability and timeliness, but can significantly vary depending on the targeted applications. This Special Issue focuses on applications with strict real-time requirements, such as industrial automation, automotive and control systems. In order to provide the required high levels of reliability and timeliness, schemes for optimal node deployment as well as efficient protocols for data transmission, routing, synchronization, scheduling, data aggregation, and data fusion, are needed. Moreover, future industrial systems are envisioned to consist of a number of connected smart components jointly performing various tasks. Large part of intelligence is expected to reside in the Cloud, which would supervise and control the operation of the components for easier reconfigurations and updates and for providing services based on the data collected from all the connected devices. This, in turn, means that protocols for real-time communication with Fog and Cloud servers are of utmost importance. Thus, this Special Issue focuses on recent advances in the development, modeling and testing of protocols and techniques targeting real-time communication systems, with particular emphasis on automation and industrial networks. Topics include, but are not limited to:

• Real-time communication standards;
• Ultra-reliable communication protocols;
• Deterministic medium access schemes;
• Real-time scheduling;
• Reliable routing protocols;
• Software-defined networking;
• Industrial Internet of Things;
• Cloud and Fog computing in future factories;
• Performance evaluation and modelling of real-time communication systems and architectures;
• In-vehicle real-time communications;
• Cooperating robot sensor networks.

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• Real-time communication
• Wireless sensor networks
• Industrial IoT
• Deterministic protocols
• Software-defined networking
• Cloud and Fog for Industry 4.0
• In-vehicle real-time communications
• Cooperating robot sensor networks