Situation in the Future – Challenges to solve:

Heterogeneous System

• Different operators
• Different vendors of
  - mobile units (MU)
  - sensors
• Different needs and features on freight cars and locomotives
• Different limitations from the hardware

Extendability

• For new needs and features
• Concurrent deployment not possible!
  - Dynamic extendability required
  - “Simple” versioning not adequate

How can we solve all this?

Generic Protocol

• Communication layer and frequencies
• Communication settings
• Reporting and query
• Configurable mobile unit (MU) behavior–Event–Action–Modes
• Configurable periphery as a bridge between “real” and generic world

Goals

• Mind the semantic gap - protocol as precise as possible
• Support of future needs - Extendability
• A subset of the generic protocol shall be adequate for all use-cases

What standards can we use?

Enlarge image:

Focus and next steps

• The concept has to be enhanced!
• Clarification of potential frequencies and radio channels
• Definition of user requirements regarding the sensor network protocol
• Definition of security and interoperability requirements
• Specification of the "physical layers“ for the sensor network
• Specification of the sensor network protocol
• …

The final definition of the focus and next steps will be done by the members of the interoperabilitycommittee optiWSN in collaboration with the members of the user board optiWSN in coordinationwith the OPTA Board of Directors.