SDN Controlled Visible Light Communication Clusters for AGVs

Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) become increasingly important for modern industrial facilities. Communication and cooperation are central parts to their role in the flexible factory of the future. Cooperating AGVs require ultra Reliable and Low Latency Communication (uRLLC), while adhering to the strict bandwidth limitation existing in modern factories. If two or more AGVs cooperatively transport a load, they need to exchange control information for precise formation control. High latency in this exchange causes undesirable relative movement in the formation and must be minimized. The addition of a dedicated communication channel for these transmissions of latency sensitive data is proposed. In this work Visible Light Communication (VLC) was selected. The AGVs are clustered according to the cooperative tasks. This maximizes the clusters lifetime and minimizes the number of handovers between communication technologies. The SDN paradigm is used to form and maintain the VLC clusters and supply the required global knowledge.