Bio-Inspired Tools for a Distributed Wireless Sensor Network Operating System

The problem which I address in this thesis is to find a way to organise and manage a network of wireless sensor nodes using a minimal amount of communication. To find a solution I explore the use of Bio-inspired protocols to enable WSN management while maintaining a low communication overhead. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are loosely coupled distributed systems comprised of low-resource, battery powered sensor nodes. The largest problem with WSN management is that communication is the largest consumer of a sensor node’s energy. WSN management systems need to use as little communication as possible to prolong their operational lifetimes. This is the Wireless Sensor Network Management Problem. This problem is compounded because current WSN management systems glue together unrelated protocols to provide system services causing inter-protocol interference. Bio-inspired protocols provide a good solution because they enable the nodes to self-organise, use local area communication, and can combine their communication in an intelligent way with minimal increase in communication. I present a combined protocol and MAC scheduler to enable multiple service protocols to function in a WSN at the same time without causing inter-protocol interference. The scheduler is throughput optimal as long as the communication requirements of all of the protocols remain within the communication capacity of the network. I show that the scheduler improves a dissemination protocol’s performance by 35%. A bio-inspired synchronisation service is presented which enables wireless sensor nodes to self organise and provide a time service. Evaluation of the protocol shows an 80% saving in communication over similar bio-inspired synchronisation approaches. I then add an information dissemination protocol, without significantly increasing communication. This is achieved through the ability of our bio-inspired algorithms to combine their communication in an intelligent way so that they are able to offer multiple services without requiring a great deal of inter-node communication.Open Acces

A Novel Propeller Design for Micro-Swimming robot

The applications of a micro-swimming robot such as minimally invasive surgery, liquid pipeline robot etc. are widespread in recent years. The potential application fields are so inspiring, and it is becoming more and more achievable with the development of microbiology and Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS). The aim of this study is to improve the performance of micro-swimming robot through redesign the structure. To achieve the aim, this study reviewed all of the modelling methods of low Reynolds number flow including Resistive-force Theory (RFT), Slender Body Theory (SBT), and Immersed Boundary Method (IBM) etc. The swimming model with these methods has been analysed. Various aspects e.g. hydrodynamic interaction, design, development, optimisation and numerical methods from the previous researches have been studied. Based on the previous design of helix propeller for micro-swimmer, this study has proposed a novel propeller design for a micro-swimming robot which can improve the velocity with simplified propulsion structure. This design has adapted the coaxial symmetric double helix to improve the performance of propulsion and to increase stability. The central lines of two helical tails overlap completely to form a double helix structure, and its tail radial force is balanced with the same direction and can produce a stable axial motion. The verification of this design is conducted using two case studies. The first one is a pipe inspection robot which is in mm scale and swims in high viscosity flow that satisfies the low Reynolds number flow condition. Both simulation and experiment analysis are conducted for this case study. A cross-development method is adopted for the simulation analysis and prototype development. The experiment conditions are set up based on the simulation conditions. The conclusion from the analysis of simulation results gives suggestions to improve design and fabrication for the prototype. Some five revisions of simulation and four revisions of the prototype have been completed. The second case study is the human blood vessel robot. For the limitations of fabrication technology, only simulation is conducted, and the result is compared with previous researches. The results show that the proposed propeller design can improve velocity performance significantly. The main outcomes of this study are the design of a micro-swimming robot with higher velocity performance and the validation from both simulation and experiment

Proceedings of the 5th International Workshop on Reconfigurable Communication-centric Systems on Chip 2010 - ReCoSoC\u2710 - May 17-19, 2010 Karlsruhe, Germany. (KIT Scientific Reports ; 7551)

ReCoSoC is intended to be a periodic annual meeting to expose and discuss gathered expertise as well as state of the art research around SoC related topics through plenary invited papers and posters. The workshop aims to provide a prospective view of tomorrow\u27s challenges in the multibillion transistor era, taking into account the emerging techniques and architectures exploring the synergy between flexible on-chip communication and system reconfigurability

MOCAST 2021

The 10th International Conference on Modern Circuit and System Technologies on Electronics and Communications (MOCAST 2021) will take place in Thessaloniki, Greece, from July 5th to July 7th, 2021. The MOCAST technical program includes all aspects of circuit and system technologies, from modeling to design, verification, implementation, and application. This Special Issue presents extended versions of top-ranking papers in the conference. The topics of MOCAST include:Analog/RF and mixed signal circuits;Digital circuits and systems design;Nonlinear circuits and systems;Device and circuit modeling;High-performance embedded systems;Systems and applications;Sensors and systems;Machine learning and AI applications;Communication; Network systems;Power management;Imagers, MEMS, medical, and displays;Radiation front ends (nuclear and space application);Education in circuits, systems, and communications

Robotics 2010

Without a doubt, robotics has made an incredible progress over the last decades. The vision of developing, designing and creating technical systems that help humans to achieve hard and complex tasks, has intelligently led to an incredible variety of solutions. There are barely technical fields that could exhibit more interdisciplinary interconnections like robotics. This fact is generated by highly complex challenges imposed by robotic systems, especially the requirement on intelligent and autonomous operation. This book tries to give an insight into the evolutionary process that takes place in robotics. It provides articles covering a wide range of this exciting area. The progress of technical challenges and concepts may illuminate the relationship between developments that seem to be completely different at first sight. The robotics remains an exciting scientific and engineering field. The community looks optimistically ahead and also looks forward for the future challenges and new development

An Energy-Efficient and Reliable Data Transmission Scheme for Transmitter-based Energy Harvesting Networks

Energy harvesting technology has been studied to overcome a limited power resource problem for a sensor network. This paper proposes a new data transmission period control and reliable data transmission algorithm for energy harvesting based sensor networks. Although previous studies proposed a communication protocol for energy harvesting based sensor networks, it still needs additional discussion. Proposed algorithm control a data transmission period and the number of data transmission dynamically based on environment information. Through this, energy consumption is reduced and transmission reliability is improved. The simulation result shows that the proposed algorithm is more efficient when compared with previous energy harvesting based communication standard, Enocean in terms of transmission success rate and residual energy.This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation by Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology(2012R1A1A3012227)