ABSTRACT
In the era of ever-increasing connectivity, every possible industrial process is tapped with sensors, networks,andautomationinfrastructuretoimprovee§ciency,safety,andtransparency.¥isleads, dependingonthedomain-speci¦crequirement,tospeci¦ctechnologiesandmethods,justasnetworks forminesarediªerentfromautomotivenetworks.Somearestillhopingfor“theone,”universalsolution,butthatseemsabitfar-fetched.¥ereare,however,severalpointswhereexistingnetworkswill experienceimprovementstowardamoreuniversaltechnology.¥ischapterlistsmajorchallengesthat industrial communication systems (ICS) will face in the near future:
•Ubiquitous global connectivity and digital identity •Vertical integration •Machine-to-machine (M2M) communication •Scalability of hardware and so¯ware
Personal experience tells us, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity is ubiquitous. Cell phones and PDAs grab3GorWi-FisignalsandconnecttotheWorldWideWebwithoutmuchtrouble.¥isdelusive simplicitymakesusbelievethatM2Mcommunicationenjoysthesameluxury.¥isis,however,notthe case.Globalconnectivityinthiscontextshallmeanmobile(butnotnecessarilywireless)connectivity overacertainregionandmaybeevenoverborders.Itboilsdowntopluggingadeviceintosomenetwork socket or registering it against some wireless network without much hassle.
