Wireless body sensor networks for health-monitoring applications

This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication in Physiological Measurement. The publisher is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0967-3334/29/11/R01

Technical viability study for behavioral monitoring of wildlife animals in Doñana: An 802.15.4 coverage study in a Natural Park

The study and monitoring of wildlife and in semi-freedom has always been a subject of great interest. In recent years the technology allows to design low cost systems that facilitate these tasks: microcontrollers, low-power wireless networks, sensors. GPS, satellite and VHF has been used for position tracking and localization of wildlife. Our aim is to design a low-cost system for local monitoring of wildlife (collar or harness) with local memory and remote access. It will use multiples sensors for behavioral and health monitoring and fuse the processed information locally to reduce the stored data, but allowing to be sporadically transmitted through wireless networks. This collar will be based on an embedded low-power microcontroller with 802.15.4 transceiver and a set of sensors to provide data (activity and health) of the animal under monitoring: accelerometers, compass, humidity, temperature, light, microphone, heart rhythm. This collar is called mote in wireless sensors network (WSN) terminology. Only when one mote is closer to an 802.15.4 mote and under request, the collar will dump the information to a host database server through the 802.15.4 network. In this paper we present a viability study of the WSN for Doñana Natural Park for different mote transmission powers, frequencies and distances for coverage. ZigBee and XBee mote has been proven.Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas RDB-ICTS 39/201

Smart Computing and Sensing Technologies for Animal Welfare: A Systematic Review

Animals play a profoundly important and intricate role in our lives today. Dogs have been human companions for thousands of years, but they now work closely with us to assist the disabled, and in combat and search and rescue situations. Farm animals are a critical part of the global food supply chain, and there is increasing consumer interest in organically fed and humanely raised livestock, and how it impacts our health and environmental footprint. Wild animals are threatened with extinction by human induced factors, and shrinking and compromised habitat. This review sets the goal to systematically survey the existing literature in smart computing and sensing technologies for domestic, farm and wild animal welfare. We use the notion of \emph{animal welfare} in broad terms, to review the technologies for assessing whether animals are healthy, free of pain and suffering, and also positively stimulated in their environment. Also the notion of \emph{smart computing and sensing} is used in broad terms, to refer to computing and sensing systems that are not isolated but interconnected with communication networks, and capable of remote data collection, processing, exchange and analysis. We review smart technologies for domestic animals, indoor and outdoor animal farming, as well as animals in the wild and zoos. The findings of this review are expected to motivate future research and contribute to data, information and communication management as well as policy for animal welfare

Internet of Things Based Technology for Smart Home System: A Generic Framework

Internet of Things (IoT) is a technology which enables computing devices, physical and virtual objects/devices to be connected to the internet so that users can control and monitor devices. The IoT offers huge potential for development of various applications namely: e-governance, environmental monitoring, military applications, infrastructure management, industrial applications, energy management, healthcare monitoring, home automation and transport systems. In this paper, the brief overview of existing frameworks for development of IoT applications, techniques to develop smart home applications using existing IoT frameworks, and a new generic framework for the development of IoTbasedsmart home system is presented. The proposed generic framework comprises various modules such as Auto-Configuration and Management, Communication Protocol, Auto-Monitoring and Control, and Objects Access Control. The architecture of the new generic framework and the functionality of various modules in the framework are also presented. The proposed generic framework is helpful for making every house as smart house to increase the comfort of inhabitants. Each of the components of generic framework is robust in nature in providing services at any time. The components of smart home system are designed to take care of various issues such as scalability, interoperability, device adaptability, security and privacy. The proposed generic framework is designed to work on all vendor boards and variants of Linux and Windows operating system

Strengthening of prism beam by using NSM technique with roots planted in concrete

This paper presents experimental results of four prismatic concrete reinforced beam and strengthened by NSM (Near surface mounted) FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymer) reinforced technique, with additional roots planted in the concrete. The strengthening technique causes load capacity of beams to increase from (6%-8%).A decrease in mid-span deflection was also observed from (4%-5%).Using this technique gave increasing in flexural beam resistant under the same conditions and this increasing was also noted in shear beam resistant

Design of a Low-Power Automatic Wireless Multi-Logger Networking Device

Virtually every industry and discipline (e.g., mining, pharmaceutical, construction, agriculture, reclamation, etc.) is finding applications for wireless data acquisition for monitoring and managing processes and resources. Two sectors, namely agriculture and environmental research, are seeking ways to obtain distributed soil and plant measurements over larger areas like a watershed or large fields rather than a single site of intensive instrumentation (i.e., a weather station). Wireless sensor networks and remote sensing have been explored as a means to satisfy this need. Commercial products are readily available that have remote wireless options to support distributed senor networking. However, these systems have been designed with a field engineer or technician as the target end-user. Equipment and operating costs, device specific programming languages, and complex wireless configuration schemes have impeded the adoption of large-scale, multi-node wireless systems in these fields. This report details the development of an easy-to-use, ultra-low power wireless datalogger incorporating a scalable, intelligent data collection and transmission topology. The final product can interface to various sensor types including SDI-12 and uses an LCD display to help simplify device setup

Wireless Remote Monitoring of Glucose Using a Functionalized ZnO Nanowire Arrays Based Sensor

This paper presents a prototype wireless remote glucose monitoring system interfaced with a ZnO nanowire arrays-based glucose sensor, glucose oxidase enzyme immobilized onto ZnO nanowires in conjunction with a Nafion® membrane coating, which can be effectively applied for the monitoring of glucose levels in diabetics. Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) services like General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) and Short Message Service (SMS) have been proven to be logical and cost effective methods for gathering data from remote locations. A communication protocol that facilitates remote data collection using SMS has been utilized for monitoring a patient’s sugar levels. In this study, we demonstrate the remote monitoring of the glucose levels with existing GPRS/GSM network infra-structures using our proposed functionalized ZnO nanowire arrays sensors integrated with standard readily available mobile phones. The data can be used for centralized monitoring and other purposes. Such applications can reduce health care costs and allow caregivers to monitor and support to their patients remotely, especially those located in rural areas

Cyber risks prediction and analysis in medical emergency equipment for situational awareness

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency administered the standards for producing a Rapidly Manufactured Ventilator System (RMVS) free of charge due to the United Kingdom’s shortfall of ventilator systems throughout health centers. The standards delineate the minimum requirements in which a Rapidly Manufactured Ventilator System must encompass to be admissible for usage within hospitals. This work commences by evaluating the standards provided by the government to identify any potential security vulnerabilities that may arise due to the succinct development standards provided by the MHRA. This research investigates what cyber considerations are taken to safeguard a patient’s health and medical data to improve situational awareness. A tool for a remotely accessible, low-cost ventilator system is developed to reveal what a malicious actor may be able to inflict on a modern ventilator and its adverse impact