IOT Technologies Research and Smart Agriculture Prototype

The present Final Project offers sensors-based solutions according to the cheapening of mini-computers and in line with the recent spreading of IOT (Internet Of Things) technologies. The main application field covered is Smart Agriculture, where sophisticated systems that sense environmental conditions and trigger output devices, usually with object on industrial control purposes, are being studied and even implanted nowadays. For this reason, consequently, a prototype has been designed. Due to a modern approach to computing and technology that demands different and more intuitive user-interactions, IOT wireless options were also considered, as well as voice compatibility. A control alternative via MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) protocol was in addition proposed, on using the developed Android app. Finally, this whole project pretends to offer the results of a generic research of the issue, whose conclusions may be only partially exposed in the prototype. Therefore, it is open to the exploitation of further functionalities and may also be adapted to a different economical sector.El presente Trabajo Final sugiere soluciones basadas en sensores, de acuerdo con el abaratamiento de las mini-computadoras y en línea con la reciente expansión de las tecnologías IOT (Internet De Las Cosas). Su principal campo de aplicación es la Agricultura Inteligente, en el que sistemas sofisticados que perciben las condiciones ambientales y activan equipos de salida, de modo habitual bajo el propósito de ofrecer un control industrial, están ya siendo estudiados e incluso implementados, razón por la que, consecuentemente, se ha diseñado un prototipo. Debido al enfoque moderno hacia la informática y la tecnología, el cual demanda más y diferentes interacciones con el usuario, se han considerado también opciones IOT inalámbricas y de control por voz. Se propone igualmente una alternativa de control mediante el uso del protocolo MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) y la aplicación Android desarrollada. Finalmente, la totalidad de este proyecto pretende ofrecer los resultados de una investigación global sobre la materia, cuyas conclusiones pueden estar tan sólo parcialmente reflejadas en el prototipo. Por consiguiente, se encuentra abierto a la integración de futuras funcionalidades así como de a ser adaptado a cualquier otro sector económico.Ingeniería de Sistemas Audiovisuale

A Smart IoT Node using a Hybrid Edge-Computing Strategy for Environmental Multiparameter Sensing

The Internet of Things (IoT) has been growing at an immense pace over the last few years and there are no predictions of slowing down anytime soon, but most importantly, not only has it been growing in size but it has also been growing in capabilities, performance and diversity. Diversity is incredibly important but also fracturing, in this context. As IoT sensor nodes get more performant and diverse, their adaptability and reconfigurability ends up being lost in the search for ultimate performance. As a way to unify these individual single purpose sensor nodes, a need and an opportunity present themselves to develop a singular multi-parameter, multi-sensor IoT node, that can make use of the latest reconfigurable technology to adapt itself to the requirements of each type of sensor, while maintaining the very high performance and precision of dedicated sensor nodes. This dissertation work will thus focus on developing an architecture and building a prototype circuit board for a multi-sensor, reconfigurable IoT node based on a state-ofthe- art System-on-Chip (SoC) with extremely high resolution measurement capabilities, which can interface with virtually any type of existing sensor. This architecture and prototype are intended to serve as a stepping stone in the path to develop a capable IoT node which can interface with a wider range of sensor and have a higher precision than what is currently availableA Internet of Things (IoT) tem vindo a crescer a passos largos ao longo dos últimos anos, e não apresenta quaisquer sinais de abrandar o seu crescimento num futuro próximo. No entanto, não só tem vindo a crescer em tamanho, mas também nas suas capacidades, performance e diversidade. Enquanto que a diversidade é extremamente importante, neste contexto, é também fraturante. À medida que os nós IoT melhoram em performance e diversidade, a sua adaptabilidade e reconfigurabiliade acaba por ficar em segundo plano na procura do pico de performance. Com o objetivo de unificar estes nós de sensores com propósitos singulares, apresentase uma oportunidade e uma necessidade de desenvolver um único nó IoT capaz de fazer interface com uma multiplicidade de sensores distintos, usando tecnologia de ponta reconfigurável para se adaptar às necessidades de cada tipo de sensor, mantendo ainda assim a alta performance e precisão de nós de sensor dedicados. A presente dissertação irá então focar-se no desenvolvimento de uma arquitetura de sistema e criação de um protótipo em placa de circuito impresso referente a um nó IoT multisensor reconfigurável, baseado num SoC de última geração com capacidades de medição extremamente elevadas, que consiga fazer interface com qualquer tipo de sensor existente. Esta arquitetura de sistema e protótipo são desenvolvidos com a intenção de servirem como ponto de partida para o desenvolvimento de um nó IoT de interface com sensores, que tenha a capacidade de medir qualquer tipo de sensor com uma precisão superior àquilo que está atualmente disponível

Une plate-forme sans fil pour electrochimique spectroscopie d'impédance

Avec l’émergence soutenue de capteurs et de dispositifs électrochimiques innovants, la spectroscopie d'impédance électrochimique est devenue l'un des outils les plus importants pour la caractérisation et la modélisation de la matière ionique et de l'interfaçage des capteurs. La capacité de détecter automatiquement, à l’aide de dispositifs électrochimiques peu couteux, les caractéristiques physiques et chimiques de la matière ionique ouvre une gamme d’application très variée pour la compréhension et l’optimisation des procédés ou interviennent les processus électrochimiques. Cette thèse décrit le développement d’une plate-forme microélectronique miniaturisée, connectée, multiplexée, et à faible coût pour la spectroscopie d'impédance diélectrique (SID) conçue pour les mesures électrochimiques in-situ et adaptée aux architectures de réseau sans fil. La plate-forme développée durant ce travail de maitrise a été testée et validée au sein d’une maille ZigBee et a été en mesure d'interfacer jusqu'à trois capteurs SID en même temps et de relayer l'information à travers le net Zigbee pour l'analyse de données et le stockage. Le système a été construit à partir de composants microélectroniques disponibles commercialement et bénéficie des avantages d'une calibration système on-the-fly qui effectue la calibration du capteur de manière aisée. Dans ce mémoire de maitrise, nous rapportons la modélisation et la caractérisation de senseurs électrochimiques de nitrate; notamment nous décrivons la conception microélectronique, la réponse d'impédance de Nyquist, la sensibilité et la précision de la mesure électrochimique, et les résultats de tests de la plate-forme pour les applications de spectroscopie d'impédance relatives à la détection du nitrate, de la détection de la qualité de l'eau, et des senseurs tactiles.The emergence of the various applications of electrochemical sensors and devices, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy became one of the most important tools for characterizing and modeling of the material and interfacing the sensors. The ability to sense in an automatic manner enables a wide variety of processes to be better understood and optimized cost-effectively. This thesis describes the development of a low-cost, miniaturized, multiplexed, and connected platform for dielectric impedance spectroscopy (DIS) designed for in-situ measurements and adapted to wireless network architectures. The platform has been tested and used as a DIS sensor node on a ZigBee mesh and was able to interface up to three DIS sensors at the same time and relay the information through the Zigbee net for data analysis and storage. The system was built from commercial microelectronics components and benefits from an on-the-fly calibration system that makes sensor calibration easy. The thesis reports characterizing and modeling of two electro-chemical devices (i.e. nitrate sensor and optically-transparent electrically-conductive glasses) and also describes the microelectronics design, the Nyquist impedance response, the measurement sensitivity and accuracy, and the testing of the platform for in-situ dielectric impedance spectroscopy applications pertaining to fertilizer sensing, water quality sensing, and touch sensing

SAGA: Smart gateway for adaptive environments

The development of adaptive environments has the main objective of providing well-being to an individual, improving the environmental conditions of indoor environments and facilitating/automating any activity. In order to implement such systems, the use of devices capable of intercommunication and acquisition of environment-related parameters around the user is essential. Using wireless sensor networks, it is possible to monitor the various quality indices of indoor environments that can be used to develop strategies to improve quality of life of the users in personalized way. In this dissertation, a system based on a wireless sensor network that analyses and improves the environmental quality of indoor spaces, as well as evaluating the health status of an individual is presented. The system acquires and acts upon air quality and illumination quality-related parameters, as well as physiological data of a user, using sensor nodes and actuators distributed throughout the environment. Several wireless communication protocols have been implemented to enable intercommunication between the several elements present in the sensor network, such as actuators, sensor nodes and a coordinating / gateway node. Several warning mechanisms have been configured to alert the user to the presence of factors that may endanger their health, namely the presence of pollutants and thermal conditions that may trigger respiratory distress. In order to provide real-time system control including additional warning mechanisms, data analysis, a dedicated web application has been developed for this system. The user can control the environment according with his own needs and preferences through profiles configuration. The whole process of system development, hardware, software, experimental tests and contributions are included in this dissertation.A criação de ambientes adaptativos tem o principal objetivo de providenciar o bem-estar a um indivíduo, melhorar as condições do ambiente em seu redor e de facilitar/automatizar qualquer atividade. De forma a implementar tais sistemas, a utilização de dispositivos com capacidade de intercomunicação e de recolha de parâmetros relacionados com o ambiente em redor do utilizador é essencial. Com a utilização de redes de sensores sem fios, é possível monitorizar os diversos índices de qualidade de um ambiente interior e dessa forma melhorar a qualidade de vida. Nesta dissertação será apresentado um sistema baseado numa rede de sensores sem fios que permite analisar e melhorar a qualidade ambiental de espaços interiores e avaliar o estado de saúde de um indivíduo. O sistema adquire e atua sobre parâmetros relacionados com a qualidade do ar e qualidade de iluminação, assim como dados fisiológicos de um utilizador, através da utilização de nós de sensores e atuadores distribuídos pelo ambiente. Foram implementados diversos protocolos de comunicação sem fios para possibilitar a intercomunicação com outros elementos da rede, nomeadamente o nó coordenador/gateway. Foram configurados diversos mecanismos de alerta de forma a avisar o utilizador para a presença de fatores que possam colocar em risco a sua saúde, nomeadamente a presença de poluentes e condições térmicas que possam desencadear desconforto respiratório. De forma a proporcionar uma análise de dados em tempo real, controlo do sistema e dispor de mecanismos de alerta adicionais, foi desenvolvida uma aplicação Web dedicada a este sistema. Através desta, o utilizador poderá tornar o ambiente adaptável às suas características e de acordo com as suas preferências, através da configuração de perfis. Todo o processo de desenvolvimento do sistema, hardware, software, testes experimentais e contribuições serão incluídos nesta dissertação

Low-power Wearable Healthcare Sensors

Advances in technology have produced a range of on-body sensors and smartwatches that can be used to monitor a wearer’s health with the objective to keep the user healthy. However, the real potential of such devices not only lies in monitoring but also in interactive communication with expert-system-based cloud services to offer personalized and real-time healthcare advice that will enable the user to manage their health and, over time, to reduce expensive hospital admissions. To meet this goal, the research challenges for the next generation of wearable healthcare devices include the need to offer a wide range of sensing, computing, communication, and human–computer interaction methods, all within a tiny device with limited resources and electrical power. This Special Issue presents a collection of six papers on a wide range of research developments that highlight the specific challenges in creating the next generation of low-power wearable healthcare sensors

Battery-less near field communications (nfc) sensors for internet of things (iot) applications

L’ implementació de la tecnologia de comunicació de camp proper (NFC) en els telèfons intel·ligents no para de créixer degut a l’ús d’aquesta per fer pagaments, això, junt amb el fet de poder aprofitar l’energia generada pel mòbil no només per la comunicació, sinó també per transmetre energia, el baix cost dels xips NFC, i el fet de que els telèfons tinguin connectivitat amb internet, possibilita i fa molt interesant el disseny d’etiquetes sense bateria incorporant-hi sensors i poder enviar la informació al núvol, dins del creixent escenari de l’internet de les coses (IoT). La present Tesi estudia la viabilitat d’aquests sensors, analitzant la màxima distància entre lector i sensor per proveir la potència necessària, presenta tècniques per augmentar el rang d’operació, i analitza els efectes de certs materials quan aquests estan propers a les antenes. Diversos sensors han estat dissenyats i analitzats i son presentats en aquest treball. Aquests son: Una etiqueta que mesura la humitat de la terra, la temperatura i la humitat relativa de l’aire per controlar les condicions de plantes. Un sensor per detectar la humitat en bolquers, imprès en material flexible que s’adapta a la forma del bolquer. Dues aplicacions, una per estimació de pH i una altre per avaluar el grau de maduració de fruites, basats en un sensor de color. I, per últim, s’estudia la viabilitat de sensors en implants per aplicacions mèdiques, analitzant l’efecte del cos i proposant un sistema per augmentar la profunditat a la que aquests es poden llegir utilitzant un telèfon mòbil. Tots aquests sensors poden ser alimentats i llegits per qualsevol dispositiu que disposin de connexió NFC.La implementación de la tecnología de comunicaciones de campo cercano (NFC) en los teléfonos inteligentes no para de crecer debido al uso de esta para llevar a cabo pagos, esto, junto con el hecho de poder aprovechar la energía generada por el móvil no sólo para la comunicación, sino también para transmitir energía, el bajo coste de los chips NFC, i el hecho que los teléfonos tengan conectividad a internet, posibilita y hace muy interesante el diseño de etiquetas sin batería que incorporen sensores i poder enviar la información a la nube, enmarcado en el creciente escenario del internet de las cosas (IoT). La presente Tesis estudia la viabilidad de estos sensores, analizando la máxima distancia entre lector i sensor para proveer la potencia necesaria, presenta técnicas para aumentar el rango de operación, y analiza los efectos de ciertos materiales cuando estos están cerca de las antenas. Varios sensores han sido diseñados y analizados y son presentados en este trabajo. Estos son: Una etiqueta que mide la humedad de la tierra, la temperatura y la humedad relativa del aire para controlar las condiciones de plantas. Un sensor para detectar la humedad en pañales, impreso en material flexible que se adapta a la forma del pañal. Dos aplicaciones, una para estimación de pH y otra para evaluar el grado de maduración de frutas, basados en un sensor de color. Y, por último, se estudia la viabilidad de sensores en implantes para aplicaciones médicas, analizando el efecto del cuerpo y proponiendo un sistema para aumentar la profundidad a la que estos se pueden leer usando un teléfono móvil. Todos estos sensores pueden ser alimentados y leídos por cualquier dispositivo que disponga de conexión NFC.The implementation of near field communication (NFC) technology into smartphones grows rapidly due the use of this technology as a payment system. This, altogether with the fact that the energy generated by the phone can be used not only to communicate but for power transfer as well, the low-cost of the NFC chips, and the fact that the smartphones have connectivity to internet, makes possible and very interesting the design of battery-less sensing tags which information can be sent to the cloud, within the growing internet of things (IoT) scenario. This Thesis studies the feasibility of these sensors, analysing the maximum distance between reader and sensor to provide the necessary power, presents techniques to increase the range of operation, and analyses the effects of certain materials when they are near to the antennas. Several sensors have been designed and analysed and are presented in this work. These are: a tag that measures the soil moisture, the temperature and the relative humidity of the air to control the conditions of plants. A moisture sensor for diapers, printed on flexible material that adapts to the diaper shape. Two applications, one for pH estimation and another for assessing the degree of fruit ripening, based on a colour sensor. And finally, the feasibility of sensors in implants for medical applications is studied, analysing the effect of the body and proposing a system to increase the depth at which they can be read using a mobile phone. All of these sensors can be powered and read by any NFC enabled device

Innovative Technologies and Services for Smart Cities

A smart city is a modern technology-driven urban area which uses sensing devices, information, and communication technology connected to the internet of things (IoTs) for the optimum and efficient utilization of infrastructures and services with the goal of improving the living conditions of citizens. Increasing populations, lower budgets, limited resources, and compatibility of the upgraded technologies are some of the few problems affecting the implementation of smart cities. Hence, there is continuous advancement regarding technologies for the implementation of smart cities. The aim of this Special Issue is to report on the design and development of integrated/smart sensors, a universal interfacing platform, along with the IoT framework, extending it to next-generation communication networks for monitoring parameters of interest with the goal of achieving smart cities. The proposed universal interfacing platform with the IoT framework will solve many challenging issues and significantly boost the growth of IoT-related applications, not just in the environmental monitoring domain but in the other key areas, such as smart home, assistive technology for the elderly care, smart city with smart waste management, smart E-metering, smart water supply, intelligent traffic control, smart grid, remote healthcare applications, etc., signifying benefits for all countries

Miniaturized antenna and transponder based wireless sensors for internet of things in healthcare

Future medical and healthcare systems will be largely improved by the wide-spreading of internet of things (IoTs). One of the crucial challenges of IoTs for healthcare is at the wireless sensors. Miniaturization of sensor node profile, minimizing power consumption as well as lowering down design/production cost of antenna, RF circuits and sensor modules have become the key issues for realizing more exciting applications in medical and healthcare fields that never seemed to be possible before. In this dissertation work, we first focus on electrically small antenna (ESA) design and fabrication for medical telemetry. A comprehensive analysis of the radiation properties of a novel electrically small folded ellipsoidal ESA is presented, showing its ability to self-resonate and impedance match without external components. It will benefit various size-restricted applications especially with wireless medical implants. The second focus is on healthcare sensors using ESA as the sensing agent, which saves the power and cost by eliminating the need of extra sensing modules. Specifically, miniaturized helix ESAs are integrated with drug reservoirs to function as wireless transponder sensors for real-time drug dosage monitoring. We also introduce a system level innovation of a passive wireless harmonic transponder/harmonic sniffer/frequency hopped interrogator based sensing system. The μL- liquid level resolution and absolute-accuracy passive sensing is demonstrated in the presence of strong direct coupling, background scatters, distance variance as well as near-filed human body movement interference. Furthermore, we investigate how modern ubiquitous wireless sensor networks could take advantage of sensitive nanostructure materials for enhanced performance. Here we propose a new paradigm of chemically-gated mixed modulation on a single homogeneous graphene device in which the chemical exposure directly modulates an electrical carrier signal. To make the device ubiquitously reusable, a method of precisely tuning the charge neutrality point (Vcnp) is introduced by electrochemical calibration with gate voltage pulse sequence. Such chemically gated graphene modulator can be potentially used in a harmonic transponder as a passive ubiquitous sensor node for chemical and bio sensing applications. Overall the research work presented in the dissertation will help enable cost and power-efficient wireless sensor networks in future healthcare IoTs.Electrical and Computer Engineerin