Efficient Pilot Allocation for URLLC Traffic in 5G Industrial IoT Networks

TL;DR

This paper proposes an efficient pilot allocation algorithm for alarm traffic in 5G industrial IoT networks with massive MIMO, ensuring guaranteed delivery while optimizing resource use.

Contribution

It introduces a novel algorithm for pilot allocation that balances alarm delivery guarantees with resource efficiency in industrial IoT networks.

Findings

Alarms are delivered within two time slots on average.

The algorithm uses fewer than 1.5 pilots per slot on average.

Guaranteed alarm delivery occurs within approximately four slots.

Abstract

In this paper we address the problem of resource allocation for alarm traffic in industrial Internet of Things networks using massive MIMO. We formulate the general problem of how to allocate pilot signals to alarm traffic such that delivery is guaranteed, while also minimising the number of pilots reserved for alarms, thus maximising the channel resources available for other traffic, such as industrial control traffic. We present an algorithm that fulfils these requirements, and evaluate its performance both analytically and through a simulation study. For realistic alarm traffic characteristics, on average our algorithm can deliver alarms within two time slots (of duration equal to the 5G transmission time interval) using fewer than 1.5 pilots per slot, and even in the worst case it uses around 3.5 pilots in any given slot, with delivery guaranteed in an average of approximately four slots.