In this episode François talks about a recent project he worked on. He was asked to assess a couple of Wi-Fi environments for the use of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) in manufacturing environments.
Context
- Wi-Fi assessment for use of automated vehicles in manufacturing environments
- Make sure that the AGV will have a stable and reliable connection to the Wi-Fi while operating along their path
Specificities
- Automated vehicles might use specific hardware to connect to the Wi-Fi network
- This hardware might be located very close to the ground
- Automated vehicles have defined path programmed
- Wi-Fi configurations gotchas
- Wireless bridge
- Lost of connection when the bridge connects to the Wi-Fi network
- Review DHCP and bridge settings if multiples devices are connected behind the bridge
- If static IPs are used, the passive client feature enabled on Cisco WLC
- What is the AGV carrying and how it is going to affect the signal
Hardware used for the project:
- HPE Aruba 501 Wireless Client Bridge: https://www.arubanetworks.com/products/networking/access-points/501-wireless-client-bridge/
- MP Antenna: https://www.mpantenna.com/product/wifi-antenna-08-ant-0944/
Great episode Francois. I was curious what EAP method was being used with the 501 client bridge? Was it EAP-TLS with certificates? Also wanted to know how the AGV interfaced with the 501 – was it using the RS232 serial interface or was it via Ethernet? I support AGVs for a large US Federal entity and had lots of challenges with keeping the TCP Serial Server connection from crashing during roaming with the 501. The customer ended up using a client bridge from Modas, which worked well. Also was wondering what brand of AGV they were using. Thank you!