A critical analysis of research potential, challenges and future directives in industrial wireless sensor networks

In recent years, Industrial Wireless Sensor Networks (IWSNs) have emerged as an important research theme with applications spanning a wide range of industries including automation, monitoring, process control, feedback systems and automotive. Wide scope of IWSNs applications ranging from small production units, large oil and gas industries to nuclear fission control, enables a fast-paced research in this field. Though IWSNs offer advantages of low cost, flexibility, scalability, self-healing, easy deployment and reformation, yet they pose certain limitations on available potential and introduce challenges on multiple fronts due to their susceptibility to highly complex and uncertain industrial environments. In this paper a detailed discussion on design objectives, challenges and solutions, for IWSNs, are presented. A careful evaluation of industrial systems, deadlines and possible hazards in industrial atmosphere are discussed. The paper also presents a thorough review of the existing standards and industrial protocols and gives a critical evaluation of potential of these standards and protocols along with a detailed discussion on available hardware platforms, specific industrial energy harvesting techniques and their capabilities. The paper lists main service providers for IWSNs solutions and gives insight of future trends and research gaps in the field of IWSNs

Spatial and temporal assessment of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields emitted by smart meters and smart meter banks in urban environments

This paper describes radiofrequency (RF) electromagnetic field (EMF) measurements in the vicinity of single and banks of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) smart meters. The measurements were performed in a meter testing and distribution facility as well as in-situ at five urban locations. The measurements consisted of gauging the RF environment at the place of assessment, evaluating the worst-case electric-field levels at various positions around the assessed AMI meter configuration (spatial assessment), which ranged from a single meter to a bank of 81 m, and calculating the duty cycle of the system, i.e. the fraction of time that the AMI meters were actually transmitting (12-h temporal assessment). Both in-situ and in the meter facility, the maximum field levels at 0.3 m from the meter configurations were 10-13 V/m for a single meter and 18-38 V/m for meter banks with 20-81 m. Furthermore, 6-min average duty cycles of 0.01% (1 m) up to 13% (81-m bank) were observed. Next, two general statistical models (one for a single meter and one for a meter bank) were constructed to predict the electric-field strength as a function of distance to any configuration of the assessed AMI meters. For all scenarios, the measured exposure levels (at a minimum distance of 0.3 m) were well below the maximum permissible exposure limits issued by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Indeed, the worst-case time-average exposure level at a distance of 0.3 m from an AMI installation was 5.39% of the FCC/IEEE and 9.43% of the ICNIRP reference levels

Internet of Things-aided Smart Grid: Technologies, Architectures, Applications, Prototypes, and Future Research Directions

Traditional power grids are being transformed into Smart Grids (SGs) to address the issues in existing power system due to uni-directional information flow, energy wastage, growing energy demand, reliability and security. SGs offer bi-directional energy flow between service providers and consumers, involving power generation, transmission, distribution and utilization systems. SGs employ various devices for the monitoring, analysis and control of the grid, deployed at power plants, distribution centers and in consumers' premises in a very large number. Hence, an SG requires connectivity, automation and the tracking of such devices. This is achieved with the help of Internet of Things (IoT). IoT helps SG systems to support various network functions throughout the generation, transmission, distribution and consumption of energy by incorporating IoT devices (such as sensors, actuators and smart meters), as well as by providing the connectivity, automation and tracking for such devices. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive survey on IoT-aided SG systems, which includes the existing architectures, applications and prototypes of IoT-aided SG systems. This survey also highlights the open issues, challenges and future research directions for IoT-aided SG systems

Application of Wireless Nano Sensors Network and Nanotechnology in Precision Agriculture: Review

Due to a series of global issues in recent years, such as the food crisis, the impact of fertilizer on climate change, and improper use of irrigation that’s way precision agriculture is the best solution for alleviating this problem. One of the most important and interesting information technology is the wireless Nanosensor network with the help of Nanotechnology will boost crop productivity, maintain the fertility status of the soil, save the water with precise application of irrigation in the field and minimize the loss of excess fertilizer through the precise application. In this paper, we have surveyed the importance of sensor networks in precision agriculture and the importance of Nanosensors with the help of Nanotechnology for remote monitoring in the various application of the agriculture field. View Article DOI: 10.47856/ijaast.2022.v09i04.00

Wireless sensor networks for in-situ image validation for water and nutrient management

Water and Nitrogen (N) are critical inputs for crop production. Remote sensing data collected from multiple scales, including ground-based, aerial, and satellite, can be used for the formulation of an efficient and cost effective algorithm for the detection of N and water stress. Formulation and validation of such techniques require continuous acquisition of ground based spectral data over the canopy enabling field measurements to coincide exactly with aerial and satellite observations. In this context, a wireless sensor in situ network was developed and this paper describes the results of the first phase of the experiment along with the details of sensor development and instrumentation set up. The sensor network was established based on different spatial sampling strategies and each sensor collected spectral data in seven narrow wavebands (470, 550, 670, 700, 720, 750, 790 nm) critical for monitoring crop growth. Spectral measurements recorded at required intervals (up to 30 seconds) were relayed through a multi-hop wireless network to a base computer at the field site. These data were then accessed by the remote sensing centre computing system through broad band internet. Comparison of the data from the WSN and an industry standard ground based hyperspectral radiometer indicated that there were no significant differences in the spectral measurements for all the wavebands except for 790nm. Combining sensor and wireless technologies provides a robust means of aerial and satellite data calibration and an enhanced understanding of issues of variations in the scale for the effective water and nutrient management in wheat.<br /

When the Industry Goes Wireless: Drivers, Requirements, Technology and Future Trends

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Design and Implementation of Multiplatform Indoor and Outdoor Tracking System

RFID berupaya mengatasi kekurangan GPS dalam persekitaran yang tertutup. Manakala, WSN mampu untuk memanjangkan jarak komunikasi antara dua nod sensor dan GSM boleh menyokong komunikasi WSN semasa gangguan rangkaian. Oleh itu, satu sistem baru platform pelbagai pengesanan dalaman dan luaran (ER2G) yang beroperasi pada frekuensi 2.4 GHz berdasarkan piawaian ZigBee IEEE 802.15.4 diperkenalkan bagi mengatasi kekurangan setiap teknologi. Sistem ER2G dengan fungsi M2M menggunakan mod API untuk menghantar dan menerima data masa sebenar secara wayarles dan menyediakan pensuisan antara lokasi dalamanluaran dan platfom WSN-GSM. Semua ujikaji dijalankan dalam persekitaran sebenar sebagai POC dalam mencapai komunikasi M2M. Prestasi sistem ER2G dinilai dan dibandingkan dengan sistem RFID berdiri sendiri dan ERG, dan ianya didapati lebih cekap daripada dua sistem berkenaan. Sistem ER2G menyediakan perambatan isyarat LOS yang lebih baik daripada sistem RFID berdiri sendiri dengan 2.66 % dalaman dan 26.49 % luaran. Kadar pensuisan adalah 0.95 % dan 16.47 % lebih tinggi daripada sistem ERG dalam persekitaran dalaman dan luaran. Algoritma yang dicadangkan berdasarkan arahan permintaan AT menggunakan mod API berupaya menghantar dan menerima data dengan 10.11 % lebih cepat daripada mod AT. Purata masa pengumpulan tag bagi sistem ER2G untuk TTF dan RTF protokol adalah 14.29 % dan 7.14 % lebih tinggi daripada sistem RFID yang berdiri sendiri. Daya pemprosesan sistem RFID berdiri sendiri adalah 18.06 % lebih rendah daripada sistem ER2G untuk TTF, manakala 7.09 % lebih tinggi daripada sistem ER2G untuk RTF dalam persekitaran pelbagai hop dengan nisbah penghantaran 100 %. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ RFID has the potential to address the inadequacy of GPS inside closed environment. While, WSN is capable to extend the communication range between two sensor nodes and GSM supports WSN during network disruptions. Therefore, a new multi-platform indoor and outdoor tracking (ER2G) system that operates at 2.4 GHz based on ZigBee IEEE 802.15.4 standards is presented to overcome the disadvantages present in each technology. The ER2G system with M2M functionalities utilizes API mode to transmit and receive real time data wirelessly and provides switching between indoor-outdoor location and WSN-GSM platform. All tests are conducted in real environments as POC in achieving M2M communication. The performance of ER2G system is evaluated and compared with standalone RFID and ERG system, and it is found to be more efficient than both systems. The results indicate that the ER2G system provides better LOS signal propagation than the standalone RFID by 2.66 % indoor and 26.49 % outdoor. In addition, the switching rate between indoor and outdoor is faster than the ERG system by 0.95 % indoor and 16.47 % outdoor. The proposed algorithm based on AT command request using API mode is able to transmit and receive data by 10.11 % faster than the AT mode. The average tag collection times of ER2G system for TTF and RTF protocols are 14.29 % and 7.14 % respectively, which are higher than the standalone RFID. Furthermore, the average throughput of the standalone RFID is 18.06 % lower than ER2G system for TTF and 7.09 % higher than ER2G system for RTF in multi-hops environment with 100 % delivery ratio