scholarly journals Sensor System: A Survey of Sensor Type, Ad Hoc Network Topology and Energy Harvesting Techniques

Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 219
Author(s):  
Phuoc Duc Nguyen ◽  
Lok-won Kim

People nowadays are entering an era of rapid evolution due to the generation of massive amounts of data. Such information is produced with an enormous contribution from the use of billions of sensing devices equipped with in situ signal processing and communication capabilities which form wireless sensor networks (WSNs). As the number of small devices connected to the Internet is higher than 50 billion, the Internet of Things (IoT) devices focus on sensing accuracy, communication efficiency, and low power consumption because IoT device deployment is mainly for correct information acquisition, remote node accessing, and longer-term operation with lower battery changing requirements. Thus, recently, there have been rich activities for original research in these domains. Various sensors used by processing devices can be heterogeneous or homogeneous. Since the devices are primarily expected to operate independently in an autonomous manner, the abilities of connection, communication, and ambient energy scavenging play significant roles, especially in a large-scale deployment. This paper classifies wireless sensor nodes into two major categories based the types of the sensor array (heterogeneous/homogeneous). It also emphasizes on the utilization of ad hoc networking and energy harvesting mechanisms as a fundamental cornerstone to building a self-governing, sustainable, and perpetually-operated sensor system. We review systems representative of each category and depict trends in system development.

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (04) ◽  
pp. 1640017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanbin Shen ◽  
Pengcheng Yang ◽  
Yaozhi Luo

In this paper, a customized wireless sensor system (WSS) for structural health monitoring is developed toward large-scale spatial structures. Spatial structures are widely used in large public buildings which generally house thousands of people, therefore the safety of the buildings is a major concern for structural engineers. One of the characteristics of spatial structures is their steel construction and the material is homogeneous throughout. So the strain is commonly the most distinct parameter to indicate status of the structure. Another characteristic of spatial structures is their large-area scale, which brings problem for traditional wired monitoring systems, so an effective wireless sensor network (WSN) for structural monitoring is in urgent demand. Considering those features, the WSS development mainly focused on the sensor selection, hardware design and network customization. In this paper, a vibrating wire sensor is selected for strain measurement because of its stable, durable and anti-electromagnetic properties. For other parameters measurement, some commercial sensor products with digital signal output are adopted. Following the principle of modularization and extendibility, the hardware design is mainly based on the realization of several functional modules. All along, energy efficiency and measurement accuracy are the core design objective. The WSN is classified into four different types of topologies from basic to complex ones. They all have the common working mechanism, namely the collected data transfers via several relay from sensor nodes to sink nodes. Different types of networks are to be customized according to the configuration and scale of different structures. Finally, two typical applications are discussed in detail to verify the feasibility of the system. It can be concluded that the customized WSS is effective and durable, and well satisfies the requirement of structural status monitoring for large-scale spatial structures. Collected data have also shown that the structural stress variation is obvious under the effect of construction process and some other factors.


Sensors ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 2446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Prauzek ◽  
Jaromir Konecny ◽  
Monika Borova ◽  
Karolina Janosova ◽  
Jakub Hlavica ◽  
...  

The operational efficiency of remote environmental wireless sensor networks (EWSNs) has improved tremendously with the advent of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies over the past few years. EWSNs require elaborate device composition and advanced control to attain long-term operation with minimal maintenance. This article is focused on power supplies that provide energy to run the wireless sensor nodes in environmental applications. In this context, EWSNs have two distinct features that set them apart from monitoring systems in other application domains. They are often deployed in remote areas, preventing the use of mains power and precluding regular visits to exchange batteries. At the same time, their surroundings usually provide opportunities to harvest ambient energy and use it to (partially) power the sensor nodes. This review provides a comprehensive account of energy harvesting sources, energy storage devices, and corresponding topologies of energy harvesting systems, focusing on studies published within the last 10 years. Current trends and future directions in these areas are also covered.


Author(s):  
Damiano Milani ◽  
Marco Bassetti ◽  
Francesco Braghin ◽  
Gisella Tomasini

Sensor nodes are innovative devices that can perform measurements on a large scale and communicate over a network. One of the most significant problems regarding the sensor nodes is how to supply power to a large number of devices. For this reason, they greatly benefit from energy harvesting techniques which can provide energy recovered directly from the environment. A study of the design and the modeling of an autonomous sensor node, powered by a vibrational piezoelectric harvester, is reported here. Subject of the first part of the analysis is a piezoelectric bimorph: an analytical model is proposed in order to estimate the performance, giving particular attention to the optimal mechanical and electrical parameters. The model is then validated through experimental tests, assuming different kinds of real scenarios. Then the results are used to design a device that can benefit from this harvester. In particular a wireless sensor node is developed, for which the energy scavenging ensures energy autonomy and long-term operability. Thanks to a particular harvesting circuit and opportune algorithms for energy management, this system is able to extract energy from vibrations and store it into capacitors. The embedded accelerometer and a wireless module make this device ideal for Structure Health Monitoring purposes.


Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 218
Author(s):  
Ala’ Khalifeh ◽  
Khalid A. Darabkh ◽  
Ahmad M. Khasawneh ◽  
Issa Alqaisieh ◽  
Mohammad Salameh ◽  
...  

The advent of various wireless technologies has paved the way for the realization of new infrastructures and applications for smart cities. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are one of the most important among these technologies. WSNs are widely used in various applications in our daily lives. Due to their cost effectiveness and rapid deployment, WSNs can be used for securing smart cities by providing remote monitoring and sensing for many critical scenarios including hostile environments, battlefields, or areas subject to natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcano eruptions, and floods or to large-scale accidents such as nuclear plants explosions or chemical plumes. The purpose of this paper is to propose a new framework where WSNs are adopted for remote sensing and monitoring in smart city applications. We propose using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to act as a data mule to offload the sensor nodes and transfer the monitoring data securely to the remote control center for further analysis and decision making. Furthermore, the paper provides insight about implementation challenges in the realization of the proposed framework. In addition, the paper provides an experimental evaluation of the proposed design in outdoor environments, in the presence of different types of obstacles, common to typical outdoor fields. The experimental evaluation revealed several inconsistencies between the performance metrics advertised in the hardware-specific data-sheets. In particular, we found mismatches between the advertised coverage distance and signal strength with our experimental measurements. Therefore, it is crucial that network designers and developers conduct field tests and device performance assessment before designing and implementing the WSN for application in a real field setting.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (11) ◽  
pp. 155014771881130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaanus Kaugerand ◽  
Johannes Ehala ◽  
Leo Mõtus ◽  
Jürgo-Sören Preden

This article introduces a time-selective strategy for enhancing temporal consistency of input data for multi-sensor data fusion for in-network data processing in ad hoc wireless sensor networks. Detecting and handling complex time-variable (real-time) situations require methodical consideration of temporal aspects, especially in ad hoc wireless sensor network with distributed asynchronous and autonomous nodes. For example, assigning processing intervals of network nodes, defining validity and simultaneity requirements for data items, determining the size of memory required for buffering the data streams produced by ad hoc nodes and other relevant aspects. The data streams produced periodically and sometimes intermittently by sensor nodes arrive to the fusion nodes with variable delays, which results in sporadic temporal order of inputs. Using data from individual nodes in the order of arrival (i.e. freshest data first) does not, in all cases, yield the optimal results in terms of data temporal consistency and fusion accuracy. We propose time-selective data fusion strategy, which combines temporal alignment, temporal constraints and a method for computing delay of sensor readings, to allow fusion node to select the temporally compatible data from received streams. A real-world experiment (moving vehicles in urban environment) for validation of the strategy demonstrates significant improvement of the accuracy of fusion results.


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