1,937 research outputs found
Performance Control in Wireless Sensor Networks
Most of the currently deployed wireless sensor networks applications do not require performance control. The goal of the GINSENG project is sensor networks that meet application-specific performance targets, in particular with respect to latency and reliability. We present scenarios within the GALP oil re¿nery where the system will be deployed and some initial technical insights with respect to deterministic communication
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
Not All Wireless Sensor Networks Are Created Equal: A Comparative Study On Tunnels
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are envisioned for a number of application scenarios. Nevertheless, the few in-the-field experiences typically focus on the features of a specific system, and rarely report about the characteristics of the target environment, especially w.r.t. the behavior and performance of low-power wireless communication. The TRITon project, funded by our local administration, aims to improve safety and reduce maintenance costs of road tunnels, using a WSN-based control infrastructure. The access to real tunnels within TRITon gives us the opportunity to experimentally assess the peculiarities of this environment, hitherto not investigated in the WSN field. We report about three deployments: i) an operational road tunnel, enabling us to assess the impact of vehicular traffic; ii) a non-operational tunnel, providing insights into analogous scenarios (e.g., underground mines) without vehicles; iii) a vineyard, serving as a baseline representative of the existing literature. Our setup, replicated in each deployment, uses mainstream WSN hardware, and popular MAC and routing protocols. We analyze and compare the deployments w.r.t. reliability, stability, and asymmetry of links, the accuracy of link quality estimators, and the impact of these aspects on MAC and routing layers. Our analysis shows that a number of criteria commonly used in the design of WSN protocols do not hold in tunnels. Therefore, our results are useful for designing networking solutions operating efficiently in similar environments
A Portable Wireless Particulate Sensor System for Continuous Real-Time Environmental Monitoring
Airborne particulate matter has been shown to be associated with morbidity and mortality, and may interfere with certain sensitive experiment. Understanding the levels and movements of particulate matter in an enclosed space can lead to a reduction in the impact of this material on health and experimental results. A system of environmental sensors including particulate matter, selected gasses, humidity, temperature, and pressure can be used to assist in tracking air movement, providing real-time mapping of potential contaminants as they move through a space. In this paper we present a system that is capable of sensing these environmental factors, collecting data from multiple dispersed nodes and presenting the aggregated information in real-time. The highly modular system is based on a flexible and scalable framework developed for use in aircraft cabin environments. Use of this framework enables the deployment of a custom suite of sensors with minimal development effort. Individual nodes communicate using a self-organizing mesh network and can be powered from a variety of sources, bringing a high level of flexibility in the arrangement and distribution of the sensor array. Sensor data is transmitted to a coordinator node, which then passes the time-correlated information to a server-hosted database through a choice of wired or wireless networks. Presentation software is used to either monitor the real-time data stream, or to extract records of interest from the database. A reference implementation has been created for the National Institutes of Health consisting of a custom optical particle counter and off-the-shelf sensors for CO2, CO, temperature, humidity, pressure, and acoustic noise. The total environmental sensing system provides continuous, real-time data in a readable format that can be used to analyze ambient air for events of interest
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
Controllable radio interference for experimental and testing purposes in wireless sensor networks
Abstract—We address the problem of generating customized, controlled interference for experimental and testing purposes in Wireless Sensor Networks. The known coexistence problems between electronic devices sharing the same ISM radio band drive the design of new solutions to minimize interference. The validation of these techniques and the assessment of protocols under external interference require the creation of reproducible and well-controlled interference patterns on real nodes, a nontrivial and time-consuming task. In this paper, we study methods to generate a precisely adjustable level of interference on a specific channel, with lowcost equipment and rapid calibration. We focus our work on the platforms carrying the CC2420 radio chip and we show that, by setting such transceiver in special mode, we can quickly and easily generate repeatable and precise patterns of interference. We show how this tool can be extremely useful for researchers to quickly investigate the behaviour of sensor network protocols and applications under different patterns of interference, and we further evaluate its performance
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
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