A method for providing reliable wireless communication in a wireless sensor network

A method for providing reliable wireless communication in a wireless sensor network (WSN) connected to an industrial control system by determining a method of radio transmission with a greater or a lesser measure of transmission quality, said method comprising the steps of:

• measuring at a wireless transmitter node a transmission quality metric of at least one data packet received from two or more different polarised switching branches with different polarization characteristics;
• identifying which of the two or more polarised switching branches has the greater transmission quality metric;
• distributing data packets with a first priority to the polarised switching branch with the greater transmission quality metric and distributing data packets with a second priority to the switching branch with a lesser transmission quality metric;
• transmitting data packets with the first priority on the polarised switching branch with the greater transmission quality metric;
• and
• transmitting the second or lower priority data on the polarised switching branch with the lesser transmission quality metric.

A wireless transmitter node configured for communication in a wireless sensor network (WSN) connected to an industrial control system, which node is arranged with processor hardware and program instructions for determining a method of radio transmission which provides a greater or a lesser measure of transmission quality, and for carrying out in the processor hardware instructions to cause the wireless transmitter node to:

• measure at a transmitter node a transmission quality metric of at least one packet received from two or more different polarised switching branches with different polarization characteristics;
• identify which of the two or more switching branches has the greater transmission quality metric;
• distribute data packets with a first priority to the switching branch with the greater transmission quality metric and distribute data packets with a second priority to the polarised switching branch with a lesser transmission quality metric;
• transmit data packets with the first priority on the polarised switching branch with the greater transmission quality metric;
• and
• transmit data packets with the second priority on the polarised switching branch with the lesser transmission quality metric.