Application of Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks to Achieve Intelligent Microgrids: A Promising Approach towards a Global Smart Grid Deployment

Smart Grids (SGs) constitute the evolution of the traditional electrical grid towards a new paradigm, which should increase the reliability, the security and, at the same time, reduce the costs of energy generation, distribution and consumption. Electrical microgrids (MGs) can be considered the first stage of this evolution of the grid, because of the intelligent management techniques that must be applied to assure their correct operation. To accomplish this task, sensors and actuators will be necessary, along with wireless communication technologies to transmit the measured data and the command messages. Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks (WSANs) are therefore a promising solution to achieve an intelligent management of MGs and, by extension, the SG. In this frame, this paper surveys several aspects concerning the application of WSANs to manage MGs and the electrical grid, as well as the communication protocols that could be applied. The main concerns regarding the SG deployment are also presented, including future scenarios where the interoperability of different generation technologies must be assured

Energy Model for the Design of Ultra-Low Power Nodes for Wireless Sensor Networks

AbstractThis article describes the modeling of a microsensor node for wireless sensor network applications. Considering the heterogeneous aspect of a sensor node, the developed model allows comparing different node configurations in order to make the best choice of components according to the specifications of the application. Therefore, our model allows identifying the need to design specific element or to use Components Of the Shelf

Energy-aware Cross-level Model for Wireless Sensor Networks

ISBN: 978-1-61208-744-3International audienceIn the design stage, Wireless Sensor Network developers generally need simulation tools to save both time and costs. These simulators require accurate models to precisely describe the network components and behaviours, such as energy consumption. Nevertheless, although the model has grown in complexity over last years, from layered-stack to cross-level, the energy aspects are not yet well implemented. In this paper, we suggest an energy-aware cross-level model for Wireless Sensor Networks. Our modelling approach allows for parameters that belong to different levels to interact with each other and to analyse their impact on energy consumption. To validate this approach, the energy-aware cross-level model for network radiofrequency activities is first provided. The results obtained using suggested scenarios are compared with those collected from a well-known simulator: NS2. Finally, the usefulness of our model in Wireless Sensor Network design process is demonstrated thanks to a case study aimed at comparing and selecting the most energy-efficient wireless link protocol

WSN simulators evaluation: an approach focusing on energy awareness

The large number of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) simulators available nowadays, differ in their design, goals, and characteristics. Users who have to decide which simulator is the most appropriate for their particular requirements, are today lost, faced with a panoply of disparate and diverse simulators. Hence, it is obvious the need for establishing guidelines that support users in the tasks of selecting a simulator to suit their preferences and needs. In previous works, we proposed a generic and novel approach to evaluate networks simulators, considering a methodological process and a set of qualitative and quantitative criteria. In particularly, for WSN simulators, the criteria include relevant aspects for this kind of networks, such as energy consumption modelling and scalability capacity. The aims of this work are: (i) describe deeply the criteria related to WSN aspects; (ii) extend and update the state of the art of WSN simulators elaborated in our previous works to identify the most used and cited in scientific articles; and (iii) demonstrate the suitability of our novel methodological approach by evaluating and comparing the three most cited simulators, specially in terms of energy modelling and scalability capacities. Results show that our proposed approach provides researchers with an evaluation tool that can be used to describe and compare WSN simulators in order to select the most appropriate one for a given scenarioComment: 20 Page

Methodology to Evaluate WSN Simulators: Focusing on Energy Consumption Awareness

ISBN: 978-1-925953-09-1International audienceNowadays, there exists a large number of available network simulators, that differ in their design, goals, and characteristics. Users who have to decide which simulator is the most appropriate for their particular requirements, are today lost, faced with a panoply of disparate and diverse simulators. Hence, it is obvious the need for establishing guidelines that support users in the tasks of selecting and customizing a simulator to suit their preferences and needs. In previous works, we proposed a generic and novel methodological approach to evaluate network simulators, considering a set of qualitative and quantitative criteria. However, it lacks criteria related to Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). Thus, the aim of this work is three fold: (i) extend the previous proposed methodology to include the evaluation of WSN simulators, such as energy consumption modelling and scalability; (ii) elaborate a study of the state of the art of WSN simulators, with the intention of identifying the most used and cited in scientific articles; and (iii) demonstrate the suitability of our novel methodology by evaluating and comparing three of the most cited simulators. Our novel methodology provides researchers with an evaluation tool that can be used to describe and compare WSN simulators in order to select the most appropriate one for a given scenario

Improving Low Power Listening (LPL) Mechanism to Save Energy Consumption in WSN

As stated in the literature, Low Power Listening (LPL) duty cycle is one of the most common energy conservation solution for WSN. By using channel check mechanism, the purpose of LPL solutions is to reduce the energy consumption of the listening phase. In this paper, we propose to study the performances and limitations of this kind of solutions. Therefore, we deploy a ContikiMAC LPL on both real and simulated WSN platform to demonstrate the impact of LPL on the energy consumptions of the node radio and microcontroller but also on the application Quality of Service. Based on the obtained results, shortcomings of LPL solutions are highlighted and potential improvements are discussed such as the use of multi-parameter dynamic duty cycle

Embedded Image Capture System for Liquid Monitoring in the Smart Chemical Industry

The work presented in this paper is carried out as a part of the design of a supervision system based on a visual wireless sensor network dedicated to the Smart Chemical Industry. Since the visual sensor nodes are battery powered, our objective is to reach a compromise between the energy consumption and the exploitability of the captured images. In this article, we are interested in how to highlight some important details of the image at the moment of its capture, a topic which has not yet been exhaustively covered in previous research works. As light is absorbed by materials through which it is passing, a correct image exploitability can be reached when applying the adequate light color. Thus, this paper studies the color light effects on the captured images. For that, one visual sensor node, based on Raspberry Pi and a camera, is designed to conduct experiments. In addition, a laboratory glass container including liquids is developed and used as an emulator of the real system.HYPERCOG H202

Image compression for WSN applied to the process supervision in Industry 4.0

Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) applications in the industrial sector are in permanent evolution due the emergence of the Industry 4.0 concept. Considering this context, Wireless Image Sensor Networks (WISN) appeared as a solution to supervise production processes. In this specific type of WSN, the size of the data to process and to transmit constitutes an important constraint that could cause network congestion and impact node lifetime. Thus, the goal of this paper is to study and evaluate a typical image compression algorithm as a solution to optimize the energy consumption and communication traffic in a WISN, dedicated to control a chemical industrial process.HYPERCOG H202

A Cross-level model for power-aware Wireless Sensor Networks design

In many Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) applications, it is important to optimize the global energy efficiency to enhance both the node autonomy and the whole WSN lifetime. In this context, the achievement of a power-aware design is a complex task due to the impact over the WSN energy consumption of different parameters, which are inherent to application, network or node levels. Therefore, a cross-level energy model is a useful way to estimate this energy consumption, leading designers to take correct decisions at the earliest design stages. Thus, this paper describes the principles of a cross-level energy model, which tries to address some weakness of existing WSN simulators in terms of energy modelling

An Approach for Modelling Wireless Sensor Networks: Focusing on the Design Concept and Energy Awareness

In the design stage, Wireless Sensor Network developers generally need simulation tools to save time and money. These simulators require accurate models to precisely describe the behaviors of network nodes. Nevertheless, although model complexity has grown from layered-stack to cross-level, the energy aspects are not yet well implemented. In this paper, we suggest an energy-aware cross-level model for Wireless Sensor Network. Our modelling approach allows parameters that belong to different levels to interact and affect each other. This approach is used to predict the nodes energy consumption and to estimate the lifetime of the system. First, the results obtained from the implementation of our approach will be compared with those collected from a well-known simulator, Network Simulator version 2 using a set of basic scenarios. Then, the utility of our approach in the Wireless Sensor Network design process is highlighted using detailed scenarios that cover different types of interactions