Wireless sensor networks: Enabling technology for ambient intelligence

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks are one of the most rapidly evolving research and development fields for microelectronics. Their applications are countless, and the market potentials are huge. However, many technical hurdles have to be overcome to achieve a widespread diffusion of wireless sensor network technology. This paper summarizes the trends of evolution in wireless sensor network nodes, focusing on hardware architectures and fabrication technology. We describe four generations of sensor networks (obtrusive, parasitic, symbiotic and bio-inspired), moving from the recent past to the future. We outline the key research challenges and the common themes in the field.

URL : Wireless sensor networks: Enabling technology for ambient intelligence

Keywords

Abstract

Wireless sensor network (WSN) bidirectional nodes, including the sensing node and the solenoid valve control node, were developed for information collection and micro-irrigation monitoring system in a litchi orchard, aimed at improving the problem of wireless communication barriers and the micro-irrigation management efficiency. The sensing node was composed of an MCU8051, a CC2530 RF chip for communication, a RFX2401for amplification. This node is supposed to collect data from a DHT22 air temperature and humidity sensor, a GY-30 light intensity sensor and a TDR-3 soil moisture sensor. The control node includes an MCU8051, a CC2530 RF chip for communication, and peripheral drive circuits for adapting the bi-stable pulse solenoid valve. The application software and backstage management software were written with these two nodes as the hardware platform, based on ZStack agreement. The maximum effective bidirectional communication distance of the designed nodes reached 1205m in unoccupied regions and 122m in litchi orchards. Within a 30 min working cycle, it could be estimated that two 3.7 V battery with a rated capacity of 3000 mA•h can power the sensing node for time up to 500d. Test results in litchi orchards show that the average packet loss rate is 0.75%. The system was processing smoothly with the above nodes for information acquisition and controlling micro-irrigation in litchi orchards.

URL: Wireless Sensor Network System Design

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have become indispensable to the realization of smart homes. The objective of this paper is to develop such a WSN that can be used to construct smart home systems. The focus is on the design and implementation of the wireless sensor node and the coordinator based on ZigBee technology. A monitoring system is built by taking advantage of the GPRS network. To support multi-hop communications, an improved routing algorithm based on the Dijkstra algorithm is presented. Preliminary simulations have been conducted to evaluate the performance of the algorithm.

URL : Design and Implementation of a Wireless Sensor Network for Smart Homes

Abstract

Sensor network has quick installation, dynamic configuration features. These features make it very suitable for its applications in the environment without wired backbone network, such as conferences, research, sports grounds, crowd control, emergency recovery, and the operational trial-field. This paper describes the application of embedded wireless sensor network system underlying software, mainly introduces LPC2138 ARM7 chip configuration, pin multiplexing configuration, the clock configuration, Zigbee CC2420 chip transceiver achievement, including reading and writing the internal registers of CC2420 chip, unpacking analysis and database connections.

URL :Embedded Wireless Sensor Network System Design

Introduction

An embedded sensor network is a network of embedded computers placed in the physical world that interacts with the environment. These embedded computers, or sensor nodes, are often physically small, relatively inexpensive computers, each with some set of sensors or actuators. These sensor nodes are deployed in situ, physically placed in the environment near the objects they are sensing. Sensor nodes are networked, allowing them to communicate and cooperate with each other to monitor the environment and (possibly) effect changes to it. Current sensor networks are usually stationary, although sensors may be attached to moving objects or may even be capable of independent movement. These characteristics: being embedded, and being capable of sensing, actuation, and the ability to communicate, define the field of sensor networking and differentiate it from remote sensing, mobile computing with laptop computers, and traditional centralized sensing systems.

URL : Embedded-sensor network design

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are increasingly gaining impact in our day to day lives. They are finding a wide range of applications in various domains, including health-care, assisted and enhanced-living scenarios, industrial and production monitoring, control networks, and many other fields. In future, WSNs are expected to be integrated into the “Internet of Things”, where sensor nodes join the Internet dynamically, and use it to collaborate and accomplish their tasks. However, when WSNs become a part of the Internet, we must carefully investigate and analyze the issues involved with this integration. In this paper, we evaluate different approaches to integrate WSNs into the Internet and outline a set of challenges, which we target to address in the near future.

URL: Wireless Sensor Networks and the Internet of Things: Selected Challenges

Simplification is an essential target as IoT organisations ramp up volumes and look to accelerate time-to-market but traditional projects are enabled via a complicated web of different technologies from different vendors.

We’re starting to see the ecosystem respond and bring pre-packaged sets of functionality to market that will reduce the number of vendors companies need to interact with and reduce integration efforts. This can’t come too soon as new waves of technology layer on further complexity. – George Malim, IoT Now’s Managing Editor

Inside this issue of IoT Now Magazine Q3:

• How rushing to a wrong decision can have long-term negative consequences for industrial IoT deployments
• How to design for the completely connected control room
• How to implement improved security and connectivity for the smart home
• How to supercharge smart meters with eSIM technology
• How a tiny antenna chip cuts time-to-market for IoT devices
• How smart agriculture is evolving the farming industry
• How a versatile sensor platform can free up IoT businesses to focus on their data