Wi-Fi Usage in Industry: Pros and Cons

What is Industrial Wi-Fi?

It is the robust version of the Wi-Fi technology we use at home, reinforced to withstand harsh industrial conditions, high metal density, and electrical noise.

Advantages

• Freedom of Movement: Autonomous robots (AGVs) and forklifts can stay connected while constantly moving.
• Flexibility: No need to lay cables when adding a new machine.
• Tablet/Mobile Control: Operators can troubleshoot faults via tablet without going to the machine panel.

Things to Consider

Industrial Wi-Fi does not have the "it works/it doesn't work" tolerance of home Wi-Fi. A robot must stop the moment the connection drops (for safety). Therefore, Roaming (seamless switching from one access point to another) performance is critical. Amazeng recommends using wired lines (Modbus/Profinet) as the backbone for critical data communication, and Wi-Fi only for monitoring purposes.