Open-Source Testbeds for Integrating Time-Sensitive Networking with 5G and beyond

Cellular-connected Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) require reliable wireless connections and will benefit from ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC) in 5G and beyond networks. 5G campus solutions, when integrating with Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN), can provide extended coverage and deterministic behavior for wireless links. However, one of the challenges for research in this direction is reliable yet cost-effective and flexible evaluation, which applies to academia and industry. We believe that open-source testbeds can effectively address the challenge due to their maturity and transparency in verifying evaluation results. Subsequently, we systematically survey and categorize testbeds in the literature that use commercial-off-the-shelf hardware. Our study outlines options for building a full-fledged testbed for integrating TSN with 5G and beyond for research and development. This study initiates one of the first steps toward facilitating future research toward practical deployment of TSN-5G integration.