The DECT NR+ Gateway
With our DECT NR+ Gateway, we introduce the first industrially deployable radio hardware that integrates DECT NR+ with existing Ethernet and industrial automation architectures, making deterministic wireless communication usable in mobile industrial systems.
„By making DECT NR+ available for industrial use, we are overcoming fundamental limitations of wireless communication in industrial environments“,
says Alfred della Torre Jr., co-founder and managing director of STRATUM 9.
Chief Technical Officer and co-founder Hubert Feurstein adds:
„For the first time, we have achieved guaranteed deterministic real-time wireless communication in the public spectrum that can withstand the high demands of highly dynamic industrial processes.“
The DECT NR+ Gateway is specifically designed for industrial environments and can be used for both time-critical and sensor-based applications. A key advantage is that the same hardware can be configured either as a fixed termination point (FT) or as a portable termination point (PT), supporting stacking several FTs into a higher-capacity “Super FT” when bandwidth demand increases. That simplifies rollout, spare-part handling and system design, while also giving OEMs and system integrators a flexible building block for different wireless topologies.
Scheduled Access Makes the Difference
For industrial users, the most important aspect of the gateway is its deterministic communication model. The gateway can run either our STRATUM 9 Scheduled Access MAC layer or the Nordic Semiconductor MAC layer.
In the scheduled model, airtime is centrally organised and time slots are explicitly assigned, which removes channel contention and keeps communication behaviour predictable even when several mobile nodes are active in parallel.
By contrast, the Nordic MAC layer follows a random-access approach that is entirely valid for many DECT NR+ applications, especially event-driven sensors and metering, but is not capable to provide the same level of deterministic behaviour for motion-related, time-critical automation.
In mobile systems, the real challenge is maintaining stable, predictable communication while AGVs, carriers or moving machine elements remain in operation and multiple participants communicate in parallel. This is where our DECT NR+ Gateway provides clear value.
In combination with deterministic control, it enables seamless handovers during ongoing communication, allowing devices to move between base stations without interrupting communication flow. Handover behavior is often where industrial wireless ambitions break down. A wireless link may look excellent in a static demo, yet become unusable once a robot, shuttle or conveyor-borne participant crosses coverage boundaries under active control traffic. STRATUM 9’s answer is a scheduled star topology designed for mobility, and in the current configuration one FT can manage up to 16 mobile participants.
Wireless PROFINET and PROFISAFE
For many automation engineers, a very compelling aspect of the gateway will be the transparent handling of industrial traffic. PROFINET and PROFISAFE are transferred fully unchanged to mobile participants and devices. No protocol conversion is required, and existing architectures can remain intact.
This creates a clear advantage in brownfield and retrofit scenarios. Mobile systems can be integrated into existing PLC-based environments without adding unnecessary protocol layers or redesigning the control structure.
However, the gateway itself is not a safety device. It simply acts as a transparent communications element (black channel) within the system architecture and directly passes through the safety-critical data.
That distinction makes the product especially attractive for users who want to bring wireless mobility into established industrial networks without disrupting proven automation concepts.
Built for Large Moving Systems
The gateway is well suited to applications such as sorting systems, electric monorail systems and other conveyor-based environments. In these installations, many mobile participants need to communicate simultaneously and reliably with a central infrastructure. Metallic surroundings, reflections, large expansions and parallel traffic can make conventional radio technologies difficult to plan and unstable in daily operation.
DECT NR+ addresses this challenge with its dedicated frequency band, deterministic communication mechanisms and a robust OFDM modulation scheme that offers significant advantages in terms of multipath propagation (echoes).
With its combination of scheduled access, seamless handover, transparent PROFINET transmission, and flexible deployment roles, the DECT NR+ Gateway is a significant infrastructure building block for the next generation of mobile industrial automation.
Industry-Proven Technology
The DECT NR+ Gateway is commercially available now as a series-ready product or as a white-label solution. That makes it relevant not only for end users, but also for OEMs, component manufacturers and system integrators who want to bring DECT NR+ into their own product portfolios quickly.
An initial deployment example is STRATUM 9’s collaboration with component manufacturer DETO Automation, who uses the wireless hardware for applications in intralogistics and for overhead conveyor systems in the automotive sector.
Martin Wolf, Managing Director of DETO Automation Germany, explains:
„With DECT NR+, we now have a communication solution that, for the first time, fully meets the current needs of industrial facilities. There is a high demand for facility retrofits, as well as a need to implement them during ongoing operations without downtime. We can meet precisely this requirement for our customers with the transparent PROFINET transmission developed by STRATUM 9.“
A strong step for industrial DECT NR+
In addition to the gateway, we at STRATUM 9 offer solutions for custom DECT NR+ implementations at different levels. These include the licensable DECT NR+ software stack for developing proprietary products, our DECT NR+ Starter Kit for rapid evaluation and prototyping, and a complete development package for custom end-to-end solutions comprising hardware, firmware and cloud backend services.
This enables companies to receive support tailored to their needs, from early-stage technology validation through to full-scale industrial product integration.
Alfred della Torre Jr. abschließend:
„As industrial environments continue to evolve, DECT NR+ will play a crucial role in enabling smarter facilities, more agile logistics and safer operational processes. With our Gateway, we are creating a concrete, industrially viable foundation for this.”