The Tactile Internet for Industries: A Review

Abstract

The term Tactile Internet broadly refers to a communication network that is capable of delivering real-time control, touch, and sensing/actuation information through sufficiently reliable, responsive, and intelligent connectivity. Envisioned to enable unprecedented applications, the Tactile Internet provides a promising opportunity to reshape industrial communication and transform the operation of many existing industrial systems. This paper investigates the role of Tactile Internet in current and future industrial systems and reviews the technological trends from legacy industrial networks to emerging industrial wireless networks, and beyond. To this end, this paper begins with an overview of the Tactile Internet. Complementing prior efforts, it presents a taxonomy of the key Tactile Internet applications. This paper covers the relevant background on the emergence of industrial communication. Then, it discusses the role of the Tactile Internet for various industrial systems and identifies the key use cases with respective connectivity requirements. This paper provides a technology landscape for the Tactile Internet to enable high-performance industrial wireless communication. Specifically, it provides insights into the recent Third Generation Partnership Project developments for enabling ultrareliable and low-latency communications over 5G mobile/cellular networks. It also examines the potential of the IEEE 802.11 and IEEE 802.15 standards for industrial control applications. Besides, it reviews the role of artificial intelligence and edge-computing platforms in overcoming the imperfections of wireless environments. Finally, this paper provides a roadmap for future, investigating the role of Tactile Internet in next generation industrial systems along with some directions and challenges for future research.