Can Wi-Fi™ 6/6E connect smart factory solutions?

Wi-Fi 6 is the sixth generation of Wi-Fi technology promoted by Wi-Fi alliance.

The development of Wi-Fi 6 is based on the standard IEEE 802.11ax and offers new features for improved network efficiency tailored to the needs of smart factory applications. Wi-Fi 6 can operate both on 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands supporting a good combination of longer range and higher network capacity compared to previous Wi-Fi 5. The network scalability and capabilities to handle many devices in the network is further enhanced with the amendment to use the 6 GHz band, called Wi-Fi 6E.

Wi-Fi 6 will connect smart factories

Factory floors are tough operating environments for wireless communication technologies. It isn’t just their physical make-up, with concrete walls, spinning motors, and metal structures. The density of wireless sensors and actuators as well as other connected devices increases as fundamental components of industrial automation and control systems.

Meanwhile, expectations on the technology are rising, well beyond maximum data transfer rates. Factory operators expect sensors to deliver 24/7 availability to avoid downtime and the associated costs. Latencies need to reliably be kept low to flawlessly orchestrate complex production line processes. Seamless roaming is vital, particularly for applications when devices move around the production facility. At the same time, connected solutions need to be simple to commission, maintain, and scale.

Thanks to the close partnership between representatives from hardware manufacturers and smart factory pioneers, Wi-Fi succeeded in continuing to evolve to meet some of the increasingly demanding needs of the market it serves. The standardization in IEEE 802.11ax focused, as defined in the Project Authorization Request (PAR), on developing a new specification for wireless local area networks to improve efficiency and performance, particularly in dense environments.  This advanced specification enabled Wi-Fi6 to hit the market with a variety of new enhancements that benefit smart factory applications allowing it to reliably meet the industry’s high expectations. Reliable data packets delivery between sensors and actuators requires new features to reduce RF interference and to avoid limiting bandwidth in the frequency bands used for operation.

What’s new in Wi-Fi 6?

Previous new releases of Wi-Fi were mainly about increasing maximum throughput:  Wi-Fi 4, and then Wi-Fi 5 included enhancements that ultimately enabled “very high throughput,” theoretically maxing out at 6.8 Gbps. With Wi-Fi 6, first released in 2020, the focus was primarily on “high efficiency.” The technology’s theoretical maximum data transfer rate of 9.6 Gbps is considerable. But the features it will likely be known for are its more efficient use of available bandwidth, and its ability to effectively serve more devices per access point.

The main feature and secret sauce behind Wi-Fi 6’s increased efficiency is Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) a multi-user version of the Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) digital modulation scheme used in previous Wi-Fi releases. Wi-Fi 6 also supports higher order modulation; more advanced coding schemes and four times longer symbol duration time to provide higher efficiency and longer range.

Here is a summary of the Wi-Fi 6 features:

• MU-OFDMA (multi-user orthogonal frequency division multiple access) adds the ability to serve more individual clients with precisely the resources they need.
• MU-MIMO (multi-user multiple input multiple output) lets access create upload and download data streams to multiple clients simultaneously.
• 1024 QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) increases capacity by packing more data into each transferred symbol.
• Wi-Fi 6 features like longer OFDM symbols, long Guard Interval (GI), Dual Carrier Modulation (DCM) makes the connection more robust and cater for longer range compared to previous releases.
• BSS coloring helps decrease interference between messages transferred on the same channel.

A further addition to Wi-Fi 6 is the target wake time feature that essentially acts as an alarm clock, letting devices go to sleep for extended time periods to save power.

In 2020, Wi-Fi 6E amendment was introduced to Wi-Fi 6 with support for RF channels in the new spectrum released by FCC for unlicensed use in the 6 GHz band. Europe followed and the lower part of 6 GHz spectrum (5945-6425 MHz) was harmonized for use in European member states required to implement this allocation by December 1, 2021. As of today, the United States of America, Canada, and South Korea have fully approved the entire 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi 6E and additional spectrum available for Wi-Fi which significantly is enhancing network capacity, allowing 24 additional non-overlapping 20 MHz RF channels in the EU and 59 in the US—at least doubling network capacity.

Wi-Fi 6: Delivering value to smart factories

So, how will these features translate to benefits in smart factories? By addressing the most common pain points currently encountered in a variety of concrete applications.

Battery-powered wireless sensors benefit from Wi-Fi 6’s increased power autonomy and reduced spectrum congestion achieved through faster communication and extended low-power modes.

Networked control systems gain higher fidelity thanks to OFDMA capabilities to effective handling of small data packets with reduced latency and improved quality of service.

The same applies to handheld operator terminals and networked tools, which also benefit from the ability of Wi-Fi 6/6E access points to serve more devices concurrently.

Wi-Fi 6’s extended range benefits industrial automation, especially in challenging factory environments.

Augmented reality (AR) interfaces such as tablets or smart glasses also benefit from the increased achievable data rates enabled by Wi-Fi 6/6E.

Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth®: Connecting smart factories

Moving forward, it’s clear that smart factory adoption will continue to build on a variety of complementary wireless technologies, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, as well as 3GPP based 4G and 5G cellular technologies.

Discover u-blox’s robust Wi-Fi 6 modules and M2 cards (MAYA-W2, MAYA-W3, MAYA-W4, JODY-W3, JODY-W5, JODY-W6, IRIS-W1, NORA-W4). MAYA-W3 and JODY-W6 also support Wi-Fi 6E.

You can also explore u-blox Bluetooth module portfolio on their website.

Stefan Berggren: Senior Product Marketing Manager
Product Strategy Short Range Radio, u-blox

Courtesy of u-blox