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Where Cisco URWB connection provides operational continuity

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Instructor David Eror David Eror Instructor
22 September 2026

Cisco URWB – it’s about productivity

How? By connecting AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles) and AMRs (Automated Mobile Robots) much better than over Wi-Fi, to work reliably 24/7 instead of humans, without fatigue and errors. AGVs also drive profitability since they lower labour costs by automating assembly flows and eliminating bottlenecks.

Several well-known manufacturers have recently started to deploy automatisation solutions involving AGVs. A few of them have recently aggressively integrated AGVs into their global production. AGVs operate on fixed magnetic or optical paths and require external physical infrastructure. If they come across an obstacle, they would stop and wait. They would not calculate alternative routes around obstacles like AMRs would. An example of a possible Cisco URWB (Ultra-Reliable Wireless Backhaul) connectivity of such appropriate types of AGVs in factories are AGVs produced by Swedish Elektroautomatik. In such a use case, URWB would be necessary to completely exclude any brief loss of control of the AGV. Without URWB, it would not be able to locate an obstacle, or it would stop without a continuous control, due to a sub-second network disconnection of Wi-Fi.

The roles of PROFINET and Cisco URWB

Industrial environments require an ultra-reliable, real-time wireless communication to orchestrate mobile robot fleets and maintain strict safety standards. Cisco URWB operates similarly to enterprise Wi-Fi but utilises specialised MPLS-over-wireless and “make-before-break” handoffs to prevent any data loss or connection drops as robots move across the factory floor. It ensures zero-packet-loss roaming and highly predictable sub-millisecond latency required for critical automation, such as PROFINET (Process Field Network) leading open industrial Ethernet standard for automation and control systems.

Several testimonies of the manufacturers say that they tried with the Wi-Fi transmission of its critical PROFINET connectivity for the interaction of PLCs (Programmable Logic Controller) that control the AGVs. However, Wi-Fi simply did not meet the expected results due to the problems in latency and packet losses. PROFINET relies on continuous handshakes – “cyclic I/O” exchange, ensuring that the machines would not stop due to the Watchdog mechanism. The PLC and the AGV’s Remote I/O unit continuously poll each other at pre-set update rates (10  – 100 ms). A “watchdog” timer defines how many missed cycles are allowed before triggering a communication fault (usually 3 to 6 update cycles), stopping an AGV.

How PROFINET is transmitted over Cisco URWB

Transmitting PROFINET wirelessly presents a challenge, because it requires deterministic, real-time responses.

PROFINET operates in two main ways across Cisco URWB:

  • TCP/IP channel for non-critical data – diagnostics, parameter changes, and device management use standard TCP/IP and transmit seamlessly over URWB without requiring special plugins.

  • Real-Time (RT) and Isochronous Real-Time (IRT) channels – for the most demanding handshaking cyclic I/O data and emergency safety messages, PROFINET bypasses TCP/IP and relies on a dedicated EtherType (Layer 2) frame. To ensure these packets are not dropped or delayed, Cisco URWB utilises the Ethernet type filter which explicitly allows PROFINET frames transmission. Besides, the industrial switches IE3200 and interconnecting URWB Access Points also support dedicated PROFINET plugins (such as Conformance Class B plugin support on hardware).

This enables the URWB network to prioritise, encapsulate, and securely forward these Layer 2 PROFINET frames using advanced Quality of Service (QoS) and rapid, redundant multi-path forwarding technologies. Even in case these critical frames are lost for any reason (reflection or interference), there is an URWB feature called Multipath Operation (MPO) that duplicates chosen frames (e.g. PROFINET) over another radio connection and deduplicates them once received.

Continuous floor induction charging for a continuous wireless connection

There is another advantage that AGVs made by Elektroautomatik EA Mobile Robotics might provide when combined with Cisco URWB on a vehicle. Since URWB access points on AGV (usually IW9165E) need to be powered from the batteries, there is now a flexible, self-charging system to modernise AGVs’ engine assembly lines. The primary innovation of this deployment is that it is charged wirelessly via floor-embedded induction lines. The self-charging process uses electromagnetic induction to transfer power wirelessly, enabling continuous and automated operations without mechanical contact. In this way, AGVs become even more autonomous and reliable, to continuously power their internal Cisco URWB equipment.