The s-mote: a versatile heterogeneous multi-radio platform for wireless sensor networks applications

This paper presents a novel architecture and its implementation for a versatile, miniaturised mote which can communicate concurrently using a variety of combinations of ISM bands, has increased processing capability, and interoperability with mainstream GSM technology. All these features are integrated in a small form factor platform. The platform can have many configurations which could satisfy a variety of applications’ constraints. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first integrated platform of this type reported in the literature. The proposed platform opens the way for enhanced levels of Quality of Service (QoS), with respect to reliability, availability and latency, in addition to facilitating interoperability and power reduction compared to existing platforms. The small form factor also allows potential of integration with other mobile platforms including smart phones

A high-throughput WSN for structural health monitoring

A challenge with existing WSNs used for structural health monitoring (SHM) is how to increase the data transmission rate (DTR) for large amounts of sampling data. To handle this issue, this paper proposes a new design method of a high-throughput WSN with multi-radio sink node (M-RSN) which can increase the data transfer ability of WSN. Additionally, a tight scheduled approach and multi-radio time synchronization method are designed for the stable implementation of the proposed network. A high data throughput of 1020 Kbps of the developed network has been proved. To evaluate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed network designing method, experiments for aircraft composite wing boxes monitoring are carried out. The evaluation results have shown the advantages of the proposed methods

A high-throughput multi-hop WSN for structural health monitoring

Two major challenges with existing multi-hop WSNs used for structural health monitoring (SHM) are how to increase the data transmission rate (DTR) for large amounts of sampling data and enlarge the data transmission range without degrading link quality. To handle these issues, this paper proposes a new design method of a multi-hop WSN with multi-radio sink node (M-RSN) and double-radio relay node (D-RRN) which can increase the data transfer ability at the sink and extend the monitoring distance without degrading wireless link quality. Additionally, a tight scheduled approach and multi-radio time synchronization method are designed for the stable implementation of the proposed network. To evaluate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed network designing method, experiments in outdoor environment and for aircraft composite wing boxes monitoring are carried out. The evaluation results have shown the advantages of the proposed methods

Remote monitoring cost minimization for an unreliable sensor network with guaranteed network throughput

AbstractIn this paper we consider a link-unreliable remote monitoring scenario where the monitoring center is geographically located far away from the region of the deployed sensor network, and sensing data by the sensors in the network will be transferred to the remote monitoring center through a third party telecommunication service. A cost associated with this service will be incurred, which will be determined by the number of gateways employed and the cumulative volume of data successfully received within a specified monitoring period. For this scenario, we first formulate a novel constrained optimization problem with an objective to minimize the service cost while a pre-defined network throughput is guaranteed. We refer to this problem as the throughput guaranteed service cost minimization problem and prove that it is NP-complete. We then propose a heuristic for it. The key ingredients of the heuristic include identifying gateways and finding an energy-efficient forest of routing trees rooted at the gateways. We also perform theoretical analysis on the solution obtained. Finally, we conduct experiments by simulations to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm. Experimental results demonstrate the proposed algorithm outperforms other algorithms in terms of both the service cost and the network lifetime

A high-throughput multi-hop WSN for structural health monitoring

Two major challenges with existing multi-hop WSNs used for structural health monitoring (SHM) are how to increase the data transmission rate (DTR) for large amounts of sampling data and enlarge the data transmission range without degrading link quality. To handle these issues, this paper proposes a new design method of a multi-hop WSN with multi-radio sink node (M-RSN) and double-radio relay node (D-RRN) which can increase the data transfer ability at the sink and extend the monitoring distance without degrading wireless link quality. Additionally, a tight scheduled approach and multi-radio time synchronization method are designed for the stable implementation of the proposed network. To evaluate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed network designing method, experiments in outdoor environment and for aircraft composite wing boxes monitoring are carried out. The evaluation results have shown the advantages of the proposed methods

A Multi-Radio Interface for Dependable Body Area Network Communications

Body Area Networks (BANs) are emerging as a convenient option for patient monitoring. They have shown potential in improving health care services through a network of external or implanted biosensors and actuators collecting real-time physiological data. Advancements in wireless networking and sensor development are expediting the adoption of BANs. However, real-time patient monitoring still remains a challenge due to network failures and congestion. In order to improve channel loss resilience and thus link availability, a multi-radio systems approach is adopted incorporating Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. In this work, we propose a multi-radio interface designed for a BAN to improve end-to-end communications. A multi-radio BAN controller is introduced to interface between the two wireless protocols (Wi-Fi and Bluetooth), control inter-radio handovers, manage a shared transmission buffer, and overall, route data accordingly through the protocol stacks. Simulations are conducted to study the performance of the system by adjusting handover timing and its effect on link availability. Advancing a handover has the benefit of a higher throughput at the cost of an increase in power consumption and timing overhead. Furthermore, various human mobility models, AP placement arrangements, and network densities are simulated to evaluate the performance of the BAN multi-radio interface. Sparse networks were found to have the most gain from the addition of the secondary Bluetooth radio system, as primary AP coverage was already very limited. Simulation results for various combinations of simulation parameters are presented to illustrate the improvement in BAN dependability through a multi-radio interface