Architectures for the interconnection of wireless and wireline fieldbusses

A number of ways to integrate wireless nodes at the fieldbus level have been suggested (Morel, et al., 1995, 1996a, 1996b, Cavalieri, et aL, 1997, 1998, Solvi 1994, Roberts 1993). Other solutions for interconnecting wireless devices have been proposed in the building context (Leung, 1992, Buchholz, et al, 1991). In this paper, we elaborate on these proposals and attempt to extract a common framework for reasoning about the interconnection of wireless nodes to wired fieldbusses. We look at the different degrees of freedom in the design of such solutions. The objective is to sketch a model that represents the various architectures that can be used. The resulting model is checked against the various proposals. The usefulness of the model is illustrated by finding new architectures that are discussed.