Special section on industrial wireless sensor networks

No abstract availablehttp://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=9424hb201

Experimental link quality characterization of wireless sensor networks for underground monitoring

Wireless underground sensor networks (WUSNs) are a category of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) with buried nodes, which communicate wirelessly through soil with sensor nodes located aboveground. As the communication medium (i.e., soil) between traditional over-the-air WSNs and WUSNs differs, communication characteristics have to be fully characterized for WUSNs, specifically to enable development of efficient communication protocols. Characterization of link quality is a fundamental building block for various communication protocols. The aim of this paper is to experimentally investigate the link quality characteristics of the three communication channels available in WUSNs for underground pipeline monitoring to gain further insight into protocol development for WUSNs. To this end, received signal strength (RSS), link quality indicator (LQI), and packet reception ratio (PRR) are characterized for the three communication channels in WUSNs. The RSS and PRR results show that the underground-to-underground channel is highly symmetric and temporally stable, but its range is severely limited, and that the aboveground-to-underground/undergroundto- underground channels are asymmetric and exhibit similar temporal properties to over-the-air communication channels. Interestingly, the results show that RSS is a better indicator of PRR than LQI for all three channels under consideration.http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=9424hb2016Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineerin

A survey on software-defined wireless sensor networks : challenges and design requirements

Software defined networking (SDN) brings about innovation, simplicity in network management, and configuration in network computing. Traditional networks often lack the flexibility to bring into effect instant changes because of the rigidity of the network and also the over dependence on proprietary services. SDN decouples the control plane from the data plane, thus moving the control logic from the node to a central controller. A wireless sensor network (WSN) is a great platform for low-rate wireless personal area networks with little resources and short communication ranges. However, as the scale of WSN expands, it faces several challenges, such as network management and heterogeneous-node networks. The SDN approach to WSNs seeks to alleviate most of the challenges and ultimately foster efficiency and sustainability in WSNs. The fusion of these two models gives rise to a new paradigm: Software defined wireless sensor networks (SDWSN). The SDWSN model is also envisioned to play a critical role in the looming Internet of Things paradigm. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the SDWSN literature. Moreover, it delves into some of the challenges facing this paradigm, as well as the major SDWSN design requirements that need to be considered to address these challenges.http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=6287639hb2017Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineerin

Air quality monitoring system based on ISO/IEC/IEEE 21451 standards

An air quality monitoring system (AQMS) based on IEEE/ISO/IEC 21451 standards is presented. In the development of AQMS, we have used the GSM wireless communication module. The developed system is capable of real-time measurement of air polluted gases such as CO2, CO, NO2, and SO2. The machine-to-machine communication of the air quality monitoring station and PC with the sink node was successfully implemented. Various gas sensor technologies were evaluated for the system and ultimately electrochemical and infrared sensors were used. Hardware and software for an AQMS was designed and implemented. The AQMS uses an array of sensors to take measurements of the ambient air surrounding it and wirelessly transmits the data to the base station. A graphical user interface (GUI), which makes it easy for end user(s) to interact with the system, was developed. Gas concentration values are plotted on the GUI. The defined calibration of the instruments at time interims assures that the desired accuracy is sustained. This paper offers further elucidations to design disputes raised in earlier studies.http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=7361hb2016Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineerin

Using cognitive radio for interference-resistant industrial wireless sensor networks : an overview

Industrial wireless sensor networks (IWSNs) have to contend with environments that are usually harsh and timevarying. Industrial wireless technology, such as WirelessHART and ISA 100.11a, also operates in a frequency spectrum utilized by many other wireless technologies. With wireless applications rapidly growing, it is possible that multiple heterogeneous wireless systems would need to operate in overlapping spatiotemporal regions. Interference such as noise or other wireless devices affects connectivity and reduces communication link quality. This negatively affects reliability and latency, which are core requirements of industrial communication. Building wireless networks that are resistant to noise in industrial environments and coexisting with competing wireless devices in an increasingly crowded frequency spectrum is challenging. To meet these challenges, we need to consider the benefits that approaches finding success in other application areas can offer industrial communication. Cognitive radio (CR) methods offer a potential solution to improve resistance of IWSNs to interference. Integrating CR principles into the lower layers of IWSNs can enable devices to detect and avoid interference, and potentially opens the possibility of utilizing free radio spectrum for additional communication channels. This improves resistance to noise and increases redundancy in terms of channels per network node or adding additional nodes. In this paper, we summarize CR methods relevant to industrial applications, covering CR architecture, spectrum access and interference management, spectrum sensing, dynamic spectrum access (DSA), game theory, and CR network (CRN) security.http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=9424hb201

Fragmentation-based distributed control system for software-defined wireless sensor networks

Software-defined wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are a new and emerging network paradigm that seeks to address the impending issues in WSNs. It is formed by applying software-defined networking to WSNs whose basic tenet is the centralization of control intelligence of the network. The centralization of the controller rouses many challenges such as security, reliability, scalability, and performance. A distributed control system is proposed in this paper to address issues arising from and pertaining to the centralized controller. Fragmentation is proposed as a method of distribution, which entails a two-level control structure consisting of local controllers closer to the infrastructure elements and a global controller, which has a global view of the entire network. A distributed controller system brings several advantages and the experiments carried out show that it performs better than a central controller. Furthermore, the results also show that fragmentation improves the performance and thus have a potential to have major impact in the Internet of things.http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=9424hj2019Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineerin

A Survey on Software-Defined Wireless Sensor Networks: Challenges and Design Requirements

Software defined networking (SDN) brings about innovation, simplicity in network management, and configuration in network computing. Traditional networks often lack the flexibility to bring into effect instant changes because of the rigidity of the network and also the over dependence on proprietary services. SDN decouples the control plane from the data plane, thus moving the control logic from the node to a central controller. A wireless sensor network (WSN) is a great platform for low-rate wireless personal area networks with little resources and short communication ranges. However, as the scale of WSN expands, it faces several challenges, such as network management and heterogeneous-node networks. The SDN approach to WSNs seeks to alleviate most of the challenges and ultimately foster efficiency and sustainability in WSNs. The fusion of these two models gives rise to a new paradigm: Software defined wireless sensor networks (SDWSN). The SDWSN model is also envisioned to play a critical role in the looming Internet of Things paradigm. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the SDWSN literature. Moreover, it delves into some of the challenges facing this paradigm, as well as the major SDWSN design requirements that need to be considered to address these challenges.http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/RecentIssue.jsp?punumber=6287639hb2017Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineerin