Evaluating Low-Power Wireless Cyber-Physical Systems

TL;DR

This paper introduces a practical evaluation method for low-power wireless cyber-physical systems using embedded devices and real-world physical models, enabling realistic, scalable testing of control and network performance.

Contribution

It presents a novel approach combining real and simulated physical systems with wireless technology for comprehensive CPS evaluation.

Findings

Supports various CPS scenarios with different control and network requirements

Enables flexible combination of simulated and real physical systems

Demonstrates effectiveness through a case study with measurements

Abstract

Simulation tools and testbeds have been proposed to assess the performance of control designs and wireless protocols in isolation. A cyber-physical system (CPS), however, integrates control with network elements, which must be evaluated together under real-world conditions to assess control performance, stability, and associated costs. We present an approach to evaluate CPS relying on embedded devices and low-power wireless technology. Using one or multiple inverted pendulums as physical system, our approach supports a spectrum of realistic CPS scenarios that impose different requirements onto the control and networking elements. Moreover, our approach allows one to flexibly combine simulated and real pendulums, promoting adoption, scalability, repeatability, and integration with existing wireless testbed infrastructures. A case study demonstrates implementation, execution, and measurements using the proposed evaluation approach.