Suitability of the Data Distribution Service for Next-Generation Ethernet-Based Agricultural Machinery Networking

TL;DR

This paper evaluates the Data Distribution Service (DDS) as a middleware for next-generation Ethernet-based agricultural machinery networks, demonstrating its potential to meet industry requirements through a proof-of-concept.

Contribution

It presents a proof-of-concept system using DDS for agricultural machinery networking and introduces a new DDI concept for flexible signal handling.

Findings

DDS can fulfill industry requirements for next-gen agricultural networks.

Security features significantly impact system throughput.

A new DDI concept enables more flexible signal definitions.

Abstract

The current state of the art in the agricultural industry for inter-manufacturer, plug-and-play communications is the ISO 11783 standard series, which mandates the use of 250 Kb/s CAN bus. To support higher data rates, the ISO 23870 series is under development, defining a gigabit automotive Ethernet physical layer for next-generation machine-to-machine communication networks. However, middleware is needed to handle the complexity of the system by providing an additional layer of abstraction. It should address the future needs of the industry such as higher levels of automation, additional data logging, modern data types, quality of service configuration, and best-practice cybersecurity. Data Distribution Service (DDS) is a potential middleware for use in such a network. DDS provides many features not present in the current ISO 11783, it is a standardised protocol for data sharing between distributed applications. This work analyses the extent to which DDS can be used to develop a system which meets the requirements for next-generation communication networking for agricultural machinery. A proof-of-concept design is presented, including a Task Controller and implement and it is shown that the requirements are fulfilled. A new DDI concept is proposed that decomposes the monolithic numeric DDI of ISO 11783 into separate typed Enums for handling group, handling feature, and SI units, enabling more flexible signal definitions. Four security configurations are tested in the proof-of-concept implementation and it is shown that enabling security features has a significant impact on throughput.