A Wireless Sensor Data Fusion Framework for Contaminant Detection

In recent years, much research has been done on wireless sensor networks and sensor data fusion, however there has been limited work regarding implementation of real systems that are capable of providing a highly connected sensor network for data logging and data fusion applications. This paper describes the design and implementation of a wireless, portable, and reconfigurable sensor network framework. This sensor node design has proven to be effective for monitoring environmental conditions of aircraft cabins and is well suited to environmental monitoring and detection of contaminants in large areas when utilizing sensor data fusion features

A Unified Wireless Sensor Network Framework

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have been a significant area of research over the past decade. WSN systems are used in a wide range of applications such as surveillance, environmental monitoring, target tracking, wildlife tracking, personal health monitoring, machinery monitoring, and many others. With such wide ranging applications, there is active research in nearly every facet of the field including network topologies, communication protocols, node localization, time synchronization, and sensor data processing. This movement has largely been the result of the advances in microelectronics and low-power radio systems. These advancements have enabled the design and implementation of small, powerful, low-power, wireless sensor network systems. Like any emerging technology, a standard needs to be established to allow the advances in the field to be directly leveraged rather than requiring reinvention. This paper outlines the traditional approaches to WSN system design, and in contrast, proposes the necessary components of a unified WSN framework that would support the majority of present applications as well as providing the foundation for further advancements in the field

A Wireless Sensor Data Fusion Framework for Contaminant Detection

In the search for more effective instruments to collect data for the identification of threats to security, health, and safety, new tools must be designed to meet the challenges of a diverse set of possible applications. The extensive range of potential applications raises the need for a general purpose system capable of addressing a wide variety of deployment environments. This thesis focuses on a wireless sensor network framework for collecting environmental data in an effort to develop a sensing solution that fits within many design spaces. The framework includes reconfigurable wireless sensor node hardware, firmware, and software for interfacing sensor networks for upstream data aggregation and sensor data fusion. The wireless sensor modules utilize mesh network architecture to allow low power radios to be effective even with low sensor module dispersion density, or in environments that have obstructions which prevent line-of-sight communications. In the current implementation, the software is designed to allow a computer to be used to monitor all sensor module activities as data is collected, request information as needed, and forward collected data to a database system for further analysis. It also supports software modules to allow different sensor data fusion and analysis algorithms to be applied to the collected data in real-time

Monitoring of the Aircraft Cabin Environment via a Wireless Sensor Network

Wireless sensor networks consist of physically distributed autonomous sensor nodes that cooperatively monitor physical or environmental conditions. The key benefit of wireless sensor networks is that they are capable of generating a more complete view of the sensed environment by acquiring larger quantities of correlated data than independent sensor monitors. This makes them ideally suited for applications where a complex environment with many interdependent factors must be monitored. The aircraft cabin is one such example of a highly dynamic environment which necessitates the use of an advanced sensing system. Thus, in order to gain a better understanding of the aircraft cabin environment, a wireless sensor network was designed and prototyped. The network is comprised of a variable number of nodes, and each node is capable of adapting to monitor a wide variety of environmental parameters. The system, as described in previous publications, has now entered the testing phase. The current configuration includes twelve nodes sensing temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, and barometric pressure. This paper discusses the results from a series of tests conducted with the prototype hardware/software in a mockup of the 767 cabin environment. Tests involved the use of humidifiers, heaters, and carbon dioxide to simulate changes in the cabin environment

Wireless Sensor Network for Aircraft Cabin Environment Sensing

Wireless sensor networks consist of physically distributed autonomous sensor nodes that cooperatively monitor physical or environmental conditions. One of the greatest benefits of wireless sensor networks is that they are capable of generating a more complete view of the sensed environment by acquiring larger quantities of correlated data than independent sensor monitors. The aircraft cabin is a highly dynamic environment which necessitates the use of more advanced sensing systems. It is with the motivation of painting a better picture of the aircraft cabin environment that such a wireless sensor network is being designed and prototyped. This paper discusses the design considerations required for wireless sensor networks in the aircraft cabin environment, as well as an overview of past and present systems developed for use in aircraft cabin environmental sensing. In addition to the sensor network, supporting tools are also discussed to enable analysis of the data collected. The primary goal of this research is to provide sensing tools to enable better characterization of the aircraft cabin environment

Monitoring Aircraft Cabin Particulate Matter Using a Wireless Sensor Network

The semi-enclosed and pressurized nature of the aircraft cabin results in a highly dynamic environment. The dynamic conditions establish spatiotemporal dependent environmental characteristics. Characterization of aircraft cabin environmental and bleed-air conditions have traditionally been done with stand-alone measurement systems which, by their very nature, cannot provide the necessary sensor coverage in such an environment. To this purpose, a prototype wireless sensor network system has been developed that can be deployed in the aircraft cabin environment. Each sensor node in the system incorporates the ability to measure common aircraft contaminants such as particulate matter and carbon dioxide, along with other key environmental factors such as temperature, air pressure, humidity, and sound pressure level. The wireless sensor network enables the collection of time-correlated results from the aircraft cabin, passing sensor data to a central collection point for storage or real-time monitoring. This paper discusses the results of testing this sensor system in a mockup of the Boeing 767 aircraft cabin environment. In this series of tests, both particulate matter and carbon dioxide were introduced into the simulated aircraft environment and measured using an array of 16 wirelessly connected sensor nodes. Two different arrangements of sensor nodes targeted both a two-dimensional plane across the aircraft cabin space and a localized three-dimensional space centered on two rows of the cabin. The test results show successful simultaneous tracking of the particulate matter and carbon dioxide concentrations as they disperse over time

A Low-Cost Wireless Portable Particulate Matter Monitoring System

This paper describes a portable sensor system design for environmental research. The designed system has been deployed in many environments and has been EMI/EMC approved for operation in commercial aircraft cabins. The sensor suite includes particulate matter, CO, CO2, temperature, humidity, pressure, light intensity, and sound sensors. Multiple sensor systems can be deployed at once to form a wireless sensor network. Each sensor node is powered either with six AA batteries or via a transformer and standard outlet. The data collected by a node can be stored locally on the device and/or sent through the integrated ZigBee mesh network to a central coordinator node. As of this writing, single nodes have been carried by passengers to monitor the normal airliner cabin flight conditions, and networks have been used to monitor indoor and outdoor air quality conditions

WSNFS: A Distributed Data Sharing System for In-Network Processing

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have emerged as versatile platforms for a wide range of scientific data acquisition applications. Wireless sensor network systems are used in many applications including: surveillance, environmental monitoring, target tracking, wildlife tracking, personal health monitoring, machinery monitoring, and many others. Current research efforts in WSN system designs are moving toward approaches that enable direct in-network processing of acquired sensor data to avoid the high energy costs associated with the bulk transmission of data to outside systems for processing. Implementation of collaborative in-network processing algorithms is a non-trivial issue for WSN system development. Design complexity for in-network processing algorithms is compounded by the fact that there are few frameworks available to enable general purpose, energy-aware, data sharing within WSN environments. This dissertation presents a novel WSN communications and data sharing framework called WSNFS (Wireless Sensor Network File System), which is designed to enable general purpose collaborative in-network sensor data processing. WSNFS presents a common symbolic distributed file system that provides virtual views that uniquely display sensor data, node characteristics, and network topology to each sensor node in the network. These features significantly simplify the development and implementation of in-network collaborative processing algorithms in WSNs