Enabling technologies and cyber-physical systems for mission-critical scenarios

Programa Oficial de Doutoramento en Tecnoloxías da Información e Comunicacións en Redes Móbiles . 5029P01[Abstract] Reliable transport systems, defense, public safety and quality assurance in the Industry 4.0 are essential in a modern society. In a mission-critical scenario, a mission failure would jeopardize human lives and put at risk some other assets whose impairment or loss would significantly harm society or business results. Even small degradations of the communications supporting the mission could have large and possibly dire consequences. On the one hand, mission-critical organizations wish to utilize the most modern, disruptive and innovative communication systems and technologies, and yet, on the other hand, need to comply with strict requirements, which are very different to those of non critical scenarios. The aim of this thesis is to assess the feasibility of applying emerging technologies like Internet of Things (IoT), Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) and 4G broadband communications in mission-critical scenarios along three key critical infrastructure sectors: transportation, defense and public safety, and shipbuilding. Regarding the transport sector, this thesis provides an understanding of the progress of communications technologies used for railways since the implantation of Global System for Mobile communications-Railways (GSM-R). The aim of this work is to envision the potential contribution of Long Term Evolution (LTE) to provide additional features that GSM-R would never support. Furthermore, the ability of Industrial IoT for revolutionizing the railway industry and confront today's challenges is presented. Moreover, a detailed review of the most common flaws found in Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) based IoT systems is presented, including the latest attacks described in the literature. As a result, a novel methodology for auditing security and reverse engineering RFID communications in transport applications is introduced. The second sector selected is driven by new operational needs and the challenges that arise from modern military deployments. The strategic advantages of 4G broadband technologies massively deployed in civil scenarios are examined. Furthermore, this thesis analyzes the great potential for applying IoT technologies to revolutionize modern warfare and provide benefits similar to those in industry. It identifies scenarios where defense and public safety could leverage better commercial IoT capabilities to deliver greater survivability to the warfighter or first responders, while reducing costs and increasing operation efficiency and effectiveness. The last part is devoted to the shipbuilding industry. After defining the novel concept of Shipyard 4.0, how a shipyard pipe workshop works and what are the requirements for building a smart pipe system are described in detail. Furthermore, the foundations for enabling an affordable CPS for Shipyards 4.0 are presented. The CPS proposed consists of a network of beacons that continuously collect information about the location of the pipes. Its design allows shipyards to obtain more information on the pipes and to make better use of it. Moreover, it is indicated how to build a positioning system from scratch in an environment as harsh in terms of communications as a shipyard, showing an example of its architecture and implementation.[Resumen] En la sociedad moderna, los sistemas de transporte fiables, la defensa, la seguridad pública y el control de la calidad en la Industria 4.0 son esenciales. En un escenario de misión crítica, el fracaso de una misión pone en peligro vidas humanas y en riesgo otros activos cuyo deterioro o pérdida perjudicaría significativamente a la sociedad o a los resultados de una empresa. Incluso pequeñas degradaciones en las comunicaciones que apoyan la misión podrían tener importantes y posiblemente terribles consecuencias. Por un lado, las organizaciones de misión crítica desean utilizar los sistemas y tecnologías de comunicación más modernos, disruptivos e innovadores y, sin embargo, deben cumplir requisitos estrictos que son muy diferentes a los relativos a escenarios no críticos. El objetivo principal de esta tesis es evaluar la viabilidad de aplicar tecnologías emergentes como Internet of Things (IoT), Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) y comunicaciones de banda ancha 4G en escenarios de misión crítica en tres sectores clave de infraestructura crítica: transporte, defensa y seguridad pública, y construcción naval. Respecto al sector del transporte, esta tesis permite comprender el progreso de las tecnologías de comunicación en el ámbito ferroviario desde la implantación de Global System for Mobile communications-Railway (GSM-R). El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la contribución potencial de Long Term Evolution (LTE) para proporcionar características adicionales que GSM-R nunca podría soportar. Además, se presenta la capacidad de la IoT industrial para revolucionar la industria ferroviaria y afrontar los retos actuales. Asimismo, se estudian con detalle las vulnerabilidades más comunes de los sistemas IoT basados en Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID), incluyendo los últimos ataques descritos en la literatura. Como resultado, se presenta una metodología innovadora para realizar auditorías de seguridad e ingeniería inversa de las comunicaciones RFID en aplicaciones de transporte. El segundo sector elegido viene impulsado por las nuevas necesidades operacionales y los desafíos que surgen de los despliegues militares modernos. Para afrontarlos, se analizan las ventajas estratégicas de las tecnologías de banda ancha 4G masivamente desplegadas en escenarios civiles. Asimismo, esta tesis analiza el gran potencial de aplicación de las tecnologías IoT para revolucionar la guerra moderna y proporcionar beneficios similares a los alcanzados por la industria. Se identifican escenarios en los que la defensa y la seguridad pública podrían aprovechar mejor las capacidades comerciales de IoT para ofrecer una mayor capacidad de supervivencia al combatiente o a los servicios de emergencias, a la vez que reduce los costes y aumenta la eficiencia y efectividad de las operaciones. La última parte se dedica a la industria de construcción naval. Después de definir el novedoso concepto de Astillero 4.0, se describe en detalle cómo funciona el taller de tubería de astillero y cuáles son los requisitos para construir un sistema de tuberías inteligentes. Además, se presentan los fundamentos para posibilitar un CPS asequible para Astilleros 4.0. El CPS propuesto consiste en una red de balizas que continuamente recogen información sobre la ubicación de las tuberías. Su diseño permite a los astilleros obtener más información sobre las tuberías y hacer un mejor uso de las mismas. Asimismo, se indica cómo construir un sistema de posicionamiento desde cero en un entorno tan hostil en términos de comunicaciones, mostrando un ejemplo de su arquitectura e implementación

Sensor de temperatura integrado alimentado por RF

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Elétrica, Florianópolis, 2013.Com o aumento do interesse na pesquisa em dispositivos eletrônicosinstalados no corpo humano, que se beneficiam de métodos nãoconvencionaisde captação de energia, o estudo e aprimoramento de taismétodos se torna necessário. Um desses métodos é a transferência de energiapor sinais eletromagnéticos de radiofrequência (RF). Tendo isso em vista,este trabalho apresenta o desenvolvimento de um sensor de temperaturaCMOS alimentado por RF aplicado na medição de temperatura do corpohumano. O sensor recebe energia via um sinal RF emitido por um dispositivoleitor. Uma vez que o sensor armazenou energia suficiente, eleenvia informação sobre a temperatura medida para o leitor. Para executartal função, os seguintes circuitos foram desenvolvidos: retificador, limitadorde tensão, fonte de referência, seletor de modo de operação, regulador detensão, oscilador e dispositivo de modulação de carga. Foi desenvolvidoum sistema que opera com um sinal RF de entrada com potência maior que-10dBm e frequência 900MHz, utilizando a tecnologia de fabricação IBM130nm. O sistema possui consumo de corrente igual a 8,5µA no modo ativoe 4,9µA no modo standby. Além disso, foi implementado um método decalibração do sensor, projetado para obter erro de medição de temperaturamenor que 0,2oC. Nesta dissertação, o projeto e simulação desses blocos sãodetalhados, bem como o teste de alguns blocos que foram fabricados. Abstract : With the increasing interest in research in biomedical electronic devices,which benefits from non-conventional energy transfer and harvestingmethods, the study and development of such methods becomes necessary.One of those methods is the wireless energy transfer. This work presents thedevelopment of a wirelessly powered CMOS temperature sensor, designedto measure temperatures in the human body temperature range. The sensorreceives energy through an RF signal emmited by a reader device. Once thesensor has enough energy, it sends data about the measured temperature tothe reader. The system was designed to operate with signal levels as low as-10dBm centered at 900MHz. The sensor device is formed by the followingcircuits: rectifier, voltage limiter, reference source, operating mode selector,voltage regulator, oscillator and backscattering device. The system presented8.5µA current comsumption in active mode and 4.9µA in standby mode.The developed sensor contains a calibration method, which was designed toachievemaximumtemperaturemeasurement error of 0.2oC. In this work, thedesign and simulation of these circuits are detailed, as well as the test of someblocks that were fabricated

Custom wireless sensor for monitoring grazing of free-range cattle

Scope and Method of Study: The purpose of this study was to develop a wireless sensor device capable of sensing cattle grazing activity. This included design and build of a miniaturized PCB, sensor specification, data processing, and experimental validation. Experiments were conducted in cooperation with the Oklahoma State University, Animal Science and Biosystems Engineering departments. The primary objective of this study was to provide information supporting the use of an accelerometer sensor for monitoring free-range cattle grazing activity. A wireless sensor platform was also developed for sensor and wireless communication development needs. Secondary objectives included exploring alternative applications, such as monitoring cattle waste excretion events, and identifying wireless network functionality for agricultural environments.Findings and Conclusions: During this study, parameters for using an accelerometer based grazing sensor were established relative to the head motion of grazing cattle. Initially, a survey of literature and video analysis of foraging livestock animals were conducted, where 0.5-8 bites/sec was confirmed as animal bite rate range. The preliminary video analysis provided guidelines for establishing a sensing strategy. Sensor data processing algorithm development and sampling rate selection were driven by video provided characteristics and sensor platform capability. The Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) was selected as the core component of the sensor's algorithm. The FFT was able to characterize grazing motions because of the animal's near-continuous periodic head movements. At least five bite cycles and a 32 Hz sampling rate were required for proper algorithm implementation. A sample size of 256 data points were collected for each accelerometer axis, and proved to be adequate for the FFT computations. A revised sample rate of 21.74 Hz was presented once the FFT was implemented in firmware. This new rate retained well performing FFT calculations based on the understanding that bite rates faster than 4 bites/sec were due to nibbling and partial bites. The FFT's Spectral power was binned and stored for the purpose of data compression and reduced wireless transmissions.The wireless sensor device platform was built using the CC1010 microcontroller/transceiver IC. The CC1010 provided integrated features commendable for fast FFT processing and conservative PCB layout design. The radio was configured for robust operation by using a 915 MHz carrier frequency, Manchester encoding, and 64 kHz frequency spread. A small, helical, and omnidirectional antenna was mounted directly to the PCB. Link budget was estimated to be 81 dBm, which equated to a 282 m (925 ft) transmission distance in optimum conditions. The device's dimensions were 19.6 mm (0.77 in) X 71.8 mm (2.83 in) X 11.0 mm (0.43 in). A custom PVC enclosure was used to house the device. For deploying experiments, the enclosure was fastened to a standard nylon turnout halter. A miniature GPS logger was also attached to the halter, which allowed for constructing grazing maps.Additionally, the proposed wireless sensor device was used to detect cattle urination and defecation events. This was accomplished by attaching the device to an animal's tail and sensing its elevated movements. Tilt measurements in the z-axis (front-to-back) direction provided the most prominent evidence of a distinct tail movement pattern during excretion events. A pattern recognition strategy was shown as a viable sensing method.An outline for a multilevel-networked system was also generated. This included cellular and internet communications, along with a customized application software for base/node management