MAC protocol for low-power real-time wireless sensing and actuation

This paper presents LPRT, a new medium access control (MAC) protocol for wireless sensing and actuation systems. Some of the characteristics of the proposed protocol are low power consumption, support for real-time and loss intolerant traffic through contention-free operation and a retransmission scheme, flexibility, and high throughput efficiency. The LPRT protocol was implemented it in the MICAz motes, a platform for the development of wireless sensor networks. We also briefly describe a wireless hydrotherapy application that benefits from the use of the proposed protocol. This paper also provides experimental results and comparison of the proposed protocol with the CSMA/CA protocol of IEEE 802.15.4.Agência de Inovação (ADI)Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Wireless hydrotherapy smart-suit network for posture monitoring

A wireless smart-suit network for monitoring body kinetics, heart and respiratory rate during hidrocinesiotherapy sessions is presented. Sensing modules composed by 3-axis accelerometers, 3-axis magnetometers and interface electronics are used to monitor the body kinetics. Heart rate is measured using an ear clip infrared sensor and respiratory frequency is measured with inductance plethysmography. The sensor network is integrated in a swimming suit and data is transmitted in real time to a base station using a 2.4 GHz RF transceiver. Measurements of the rotation of shoulders, hips and spine are performed with a resolution of less than 2 degrees. A new MAC protocol for wireless sensing and actuation, LPRT protocol, implemented in MICAz motes is used. Some of the characteristics of the proposed protocol are low power consumption, real-time support and loss intolerant traffic. The protocol uses contentionfree operation and retransmission scheme and is very flexible and has high throughput efficiency.Agência de Inovação (ADI

Supporting Cyber-Physical Systems with Wireless Sensor Networks: An Outlook of Software and Services

Sensing, communication, computation and control technologies are the essential building blocks of a cyber-physical system (CPS). Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are a way to support CPS as they provide fine-grained spatial-temporal sensing, communication and computation at a low premium of cost and power. In this article, we explore the fundamental concepts guiding the design and implementation of WSNs. We report the latest developments in WSN software and services for meeting existing requirements and newer demands; particularly in the areas of: operating system, simulator and emulator, programming abstraction, virtualization, IP-based communication and security, time and location, and network monitoring and management. We also reflect on the ongoing efforts in providing dependable assurances for WSN-driven CPS. Finally, we report on its applicability with a case-study on smart buildings

A bluetooth-based wireless distributed data acquisition and control system

This paper presents an application independent embedded platform for a wireless distributed data acquisition and control system, and describes its application in the scenario of controlling the information processing and communications between sensors and actuators onboard of an autonomous flying robot, in a “fly-by-wireless” approach. The system, which was designed and implemented, comprises a set of nodes composed by microcontrollers, wireless communication modules based on Bluetooth technology, and sensing/actuation devices. This paper also presents several experimental results which denote encouraging performance characteristics for the developed system, not only in the context of the proposed application, but for other wireless applications as well

Wireless industrial monitoring and control networks: the journey so far and the road ahead

While traditional wired communication technologies have played a crucial role in industrial monitoring and control networks over the past few decades, they are increasingly proving to be inadequate to meet the highly dynamic and stringent demands of today’s industrial applications, primarily due to the very rigid nature of wired infrastructures. Wireless technology, however, through its increased pervasiveness, has the potential to revolutionize the industry, not only by mitigating the problems faced by wired solutions, but also by introducing a completely new class of applications. While present day wireless technologies made some preliminary inroads in the monitoring domain, they still have severe limitations especially when real-time, reliable distributed control operations are concerned. This article provides the reader with an overview of existing wireless technologies commonly used in the monitoring and control industry. It highlights the pros and cons of each technology and assesses the degree to which each technology is able to meet the stringent demands of industrial monitoring and control networks. Additionally, it summarizes mechanisms proposed by academia, especially serving critical applications by addressing the real-time and reliability requirements of industrial process automation. The article also describes certain key research problems from the physical layer communication for sensor networks and the wireless networking perspective that have yet to be addressed to allow the successful use of wireless technologies in industrial monitoring and control networks

Cyber-Physical Co-Design of Wireless Control Systems

Wireless sensor-actuator network (WSAN) technology is gaining rapid adoption in process industries because of its advantages in lowering deployment and maintenance cost in challenging environments. While early success of industrial WSANs has been recognized, significant potential remains in exploring WSANs as unified networks for industrial plants. This thesis research explores a cyber-physical co-design approach to design wireless control systems. To enable holistic studies of wireless control systems, we have developed the Wireless Cyber-Physical Simulator (WCPS), an integrated co-simulation environment that integrates Simulink and our implementation of WSANs based on the industrial WirelessHART standard. We further develop novel WSAN protocols tailored for advanced control designs for networked control systems. WCPS now works as the first simulator that features both linear and nonlinear physical plant models, state-of-art WirelessHART protocol stack, and realistic wireless network characteristics. A realistic wireless structural control study sheds light on the challenges of WSC and the limitations of a traditional structural control approach under realistic wireless conditions. Systematic emergency control results demonstrate that our real-time emergency communication approach enables timely emergency handling, while allowing regular feedback control loops to effectively share resources in WSANs during normal operations. A co-joint study of wireless routing and control highlights the importance of the co-design approach of wireless networks and control

Is There Light at the Ends of the Tunnel? Wireless Sensor Networks for Adaptive Lighting in Road Tunnels

Existing deployments of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are often conceived as stand-alone monitoring tools. In this paper, we report instead on a deployment where the WSN is a key component of a closed-loop control system for adaptive lighting in operational road tunnels. WSN nodes along the tunnel walls report light readings to a control station, which closes the loop by setting the intensity of lamps to match a legislated curve. The ability to match dynamically the lighting levels to the actual environmental conditions improves the tunnel safety and reduces its power consumption. The use of WSNs in a closed-loop system, combined with the real-world, harsh setting of operational road tunnels, induces tighter requirements on the quality and timeliness of sensed data, as well as on the reliability and lifetime of the network. In this work, we test to what extent mainstream WSN technology meets these challenges, using a dedicated design that however relies on wellestablished techniques. The paper describes the hw/sw architecture we devised by focusing on the WSN component, and analyzes its performance through experiments in a real, operational tunnel

ITERL: A Wireless Adaptive System for Efficient Road Lighting

This work presents the development and construction of an adaptive street lighting system that improves safety at intersections, which is the result of applying low-power Internet of Things (IoT) techniques to intelligent transportation systems. A set of wireless sensor nodes using the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.15.4 standard with additional internet protocol (IP) connectivity measures both ambient conditions and vehicle transit. These measurements are sent to a coordinator node that collects and passes them to a local controller, which then makes decisions leading to the streetlight being turned on and its illumination level controlled. Streetlights are autonomous, powered by photovoltaic energy, and wirelessly connected, achieving a high degree of energy efficiency. Relevant data are also sent to the highway conservation center, allowing it to maintain up-to-date information for the system, enabling preventive maintenance.Consejería de Fomento y Vivienda Junta de Andalucía G-GI3002 / IDIOFondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional G-GI3002 / IDI