WIRELESS SENSORS

A NEW TECHNOLOGY IN WIRELESS SENSORS

Submitted by:

V.GOWTHAMI
07F91A1216
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
PRAKASAM ENGINEERING COLLEGE
KANDUKUR
Gowthami.vaddella@gmail.com
ABSTRACT

In this paper, we present how a wireless sensor will work,

background of wireless sensors, why we use wireless sensors.
Architectures for sensors network have been changing greatly over the
last 50 years.

In past, smart sensors stands by supporting high level interfaces.

Cost and complexity escalate significantly. As the number of required
connections increases.

At present, wireless network of intelligent sensors eliminate that failure

mode and provides peer to peer communications. So that cooperating
sensors implementation can be cost effective.

New sensors and actuators based on micro electro mechanical systems

(MEMS) are coming out of laboratories around the world and providing
solutions in specific applications. It should also enhance the
functionality, performance or exit of the end system. Presents a number
of examples of smart functionality and smart components and
concludes that suppliers of sensors and actuators will take a leading
role in the smart revolution.

The Industry is moving towards the implementation of the networks of

wireless sensors that can operate in demanding environments and
provide clear advantages in cost, size, power, flexibility and distributed
intelligence.
INDEX:
 Introduction:

 Characteristics of sensor:

 Types of sensors:

 Selecting a sensor:

 IT’S TIME FOR SENSORS TO GO WIRELESS:

 Wireless sensors:

 Back ground:

 Why we use wireless sensors?

 Use of sensors in:

• past
• Present
• Future

 Technological under pinnings:

• Spread spectrum
• Code division multiple access
• Mixed signal design

 Conclusion
 Bibilography
INTRODUCTION :

A sensor is a device that responds to a physical stimulus (as

heat, light, sound, pressure, magnetism, or a particular motion)
and transmits a resulting impulse (a signal relating to the quantity
being measured). For example, certain sensors convert
temperature into a change in resistance. A transducer is a device
that is actuated by power from one system and supplies power
usually in another form to a second system. For example a
loudspeaker is a transducer that transforms electrical signals into
sound energy. Often the words transducer and sensor are used
synonymously

For our purposes, a sensor is a device which converts a physical

phenomena into an electrical signal. As such, sensors represent
part of the interface between the physical world and the world of
electrical devices, such as computers.

Why do we care so much about this interface? In recent years,

enormous capability for information processing has been
developed within the electronics industry. The largest example of
this capability is the personal computer. In addition, the
availability of inexpensive microprocessors is having a
tremendous impact on the design of products ranging from
automobiles to microwave ovens to toys. In recent years, versions
of these products which utilize microprocessors for control of
functionality are becoming widely available. In automobiles, such
capability is necessary to achieve compliance with pollution
restrictions. In other cases, such capability simply offers an
inexpensive performance advantage.

All of these microprocessors need electrical input voltages in

order to receive instructions and information. So, along with the
availability of inexpensive microprocessors has grown an
opportunity for the use of sensors in a wide variety of products.
Sensor Performance Characteristics Definitions

Transfer Function:

The functional relationship between physical input signal and

electrical output signal

Sensitivity:

The sensitivity is the relationship indicating how must output you

get per unit input.

The sensitivity is generally the ratio between a small change in

electrical signal to a small change in physical signal. As such, it
may be expressed as the derivative of the transfer function with
respect to physical signal

Span or Dynamic Range:

The limits between which the input can vary. The range of input
physical signals which may be converted to electrical signals by
the sensor. Signals outside of this range are expected to cause
unacceptably large inaccuracy. This span or dynamic range is
usually specified by the sensor supplier as the range over which
other performance characteristics described in the data sheets
are expected to apply. Example: A load cell may measure forces
in the range 0 to 50kN.

Error:

The difference between the true value of the quantity being

measured and the result of the measurement. Units are those of
the quantity being measured.

Accuracy:

Generally defined as the largest expected error between actual

and ideal output signals. Accuracy is the extent to which the value
indicated by the measurement system might be wrong. Accuracy
is the sum of all possible errors that are likely to occur, in addition
to the accuracy to which the sensor has been calibrated.
TYPES OF SENSORS
Selecting a sensor
Given the above discussion, these steps are fairly obvious:

1. What needs to be measured? The variable (temperature,

pressure, etc), its nominal value, the range of values, the
accuracy required, the required speed of measurement, the
reliablity required, the envionmental conditions under
which the measurement will be taken.
2. What form of output is required? What signal conditioning
will be required?
3. Identify possible sensors. Consider: range, accuracy,
speed, reliability,maintainability, life, power requirements,
availability, ruggedness, cost.

IT’S TIME FOR SENSOR’S TO GO WIRELESS

Trends are moving us toward the integration of wireless

communications with sensors. The important question is when
should you begin the transition to these systems.

Many forces are drawing sensor manufacturers to wireless

technology. The explosive growth of the personal
communications market has driven the cost of radio devices
down and the quality up. At the same time, the expenses
associated with installing, terminating, testing, maintaining,
troubleshooting, and upgrading wiring continues to escalate
faster than facility managers would like. The Federal Aviation
Administration recently announced that aircraft wiring would no
longer be considered a lifetime, fault-free techno-logy.[1] Not
surprisingly, the details of the cost equation depend on the
application. With wire in some specialized installations
approaching $2000 per foot, the attractiveness of a wireless
system needs little reinforcement
Background

Point-to-point wireless systems have been available in the

instrumentation world for many years. The first architectures that
supported wireless interconnects involved simple wireless modems
capable of transmitting packets of data across a room (or a field) using
standard RS-232 interfaces on both ends. Many of these early systems
used digital modulation techniques across standard narrow-band
frequency modulation channels. But restricted band allocations severely
limited the number of devices that could operate simultaneously in a
common area. More sophisticated modulation techniques and emerging
standards are beginning to address these and other problems common
to early systems. True wireless networks are becoming feasible through
the use of advanced techniques.

Photo 1. The nose-on-a-chip is a MEMS-based

sensor that can detect 400 species of gases and
transmit a signal indicating the level to a central
control station. The wireless sensor was developed
at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Why we use wireless sensors ?

The industry is moving toward the implementation of networks of

wireless sensors that can operate in demanding environments and
provide clear advantages in cost, size, power, flexibility, and distributed
intelligence (see Photo 1, page 10). Architectures for sensor networks
have been changing greatly over the last 50 years. We've all worked with
measurement schemes in which individually wired sensors output a 420
mA signal that represented the parameter being measured. The cost and
complexity of such wiring prompted many to embrace bus architectures
when they became available in the
1970s.

PAST :

Bus and network topologies

significantly reduced the required
wiring and provided an opportunity for
hierarchical architecture that
supported distributed intelligence at
the unit and factory floor levels . swart
sensors stands by supporting high
level interfaces and allowing
information abstraction and object
oriented approaches –or also
providing new opportunities for
distributed intelligence architecture.
May of the standard allow individual
sensors to interface directly with
digital bus.

PRESENT :

But these standards haven't eliminated

the need to wire individual sensors to
a concentrator. And this architecture
introduces a single point of failure-the
digital bus connecting all the sensors.
Alternatives provide redundant bus
architectures, but cost and complexity
escalate significantly as the number of
required connections increases. As
shown in Figure 1 (page 12), a wireless
network of intelligent sensors
eliminates that failure mode and
provides peer-to-peer communications
so that cooperating-sensor
implementations can be cost effective Figure 1The long runs of wires
necessary for 420 mA designs have
given way to the bus and network
FUTURE : architectures of today. The
distributed intelligence supported
New sensors and actuators based on by the concentrators in these
microelectromechanical systems architectures not only reduces the
wiring but also the required
communication bandwidth.
Intelligent wireless sensors will
bring a new reduction in wiring;
more opportunities for distributed
intelligence; and with peer-to-peer
sensor networks, improved
(MEMS) are coming out of laboratories around the world and providing
solutions in specific applications.[2] Many automotive air bag
deployment systems have been designed to use state-of-the-art MEMS-
fabricated accelerometers-potentially the most widespread application
of MEMS to date. And a new generation of ink jet printers uses print
heads fabricated with MEMS techniques..

The firdata necessary to update the host

on the status of the equipment.

CSI's robust, consistent, distributed

architecture allows the customer to add
new sensors to the network as they
become available. Because CSI has
elected to maintain proprietary
interfaces, new sensors will only be
available from CSI or from licensed
partners. Open standards are meant to Photo 2.The fragile wiring on
provide end users with options from a miniature sensors, like the
wide array of suppliers who opt to submicron position sensor
illustrated here, makes the case
comply. The battle between open and
for why wireless technology will
proprietary standards will play out in become more important as
this market as it has in other markets sensors shrink.
before.

The constantly reduced cost of computational power lends itself well to

the distributed architecture described above. Embedded intelligence
reduces the bandwidth required in the communications path. Customer
acceptance of wireless technology, led by the wireless phone market, is
likely to spread to industry much like the ubiquitous personal
computers that have penetrated the industrial markets.

Trends are already evident that encourage increased use of sensors,

software, and controls to bolster a company's competitive advantage.
When the factory floor data systems become a sustainable competitive
advantage (rather than an expense to be managed), companies will
demand continuously increasing performance and reduced cost-
Moore's Law! New sensor companies (or existing companies that
reinvent themselves) will likely emerge to supply low-cost, high-
performance, easily deployed devices that will change the way end
users view sensors and sensor systems.
 Figure 2.Integration of the sensor, signal conditioning, and
telemetry on a single chip can overcome the high cost of wiring
in distributed measurement applications.

st (and to date only) commercially available, fully integrated wireless

sensor was announced by Computational Systems

data necessary to update the host on the status of the equipment.

Technological Underpinnings

The development and deployment of wireless sensors depend on the

convergence of spread spectrum radio, new code division multiple
access (CDMA) techniques, error detection/correction, and new
techniques for mixed-signal (A/D) IC designs. Bringing these
technologies to bear on sensor needs requires an interdisciplinary
approach to design that many organizations have been unable to
implement. Some organizations have successfully developed
components for wireless sensors but haven't been able to produce an
integrated sensor that meets operating parameters necessary for real-
world use.

The disadvantages arising from the use of wireless technology in

measurement applications have relegated wireless solutions to niche
applications, at best. The disadvantages have been serious enough that
most users have either avoided the temptation to pursue a wireless
approach or, having suffered the consequences of the shortcomings,
vowed never to try again. Problems identified in many of the early
attempts include:
Figure 3. The U.S. Navy tested the Telesensor to determine how effectively the
intelligent wireless sensor could monitor temperature throughout a ship. The device
reliably collected and transmitted data over three decks of the ship and resisted
shipboard EMI. The diagram shows the various components of the sensor.

• A lack of robust connectivity

• Inadequate data rates
• Inadequate data security-wireless systems did not offer features
that could prevent unauthorized interception of signals and data
• Limited extensibility-the technology lacked the ability to
dynamically reconfigure existing and new sensor nodes in the
network
• High cost-fabrication costs of radio transceivers meant that only
high-value applications could be addressed
• EMI susceptibility-manufacturers could not produce the complex
circuitry that ensured accuracy and implement immunity to
nearby RF generators
• Overly complex logistics-deploying wireless devices required
detailed logs and licenses
• Time synchronism-local synchronized time was not available for
correlating cross-sensor data
• Short battery life-tetherless devices required batteries that had to
be changed or recharged frequently
Spread Spectrum

Not all spread spectrum techniques are created equal. Spreading the
energy of the communications signal over a wider range of frequencies
can be accomplished in a number of different ways. The original patent
described what is known as frequency hopping spread spectrum
(FHSS).

But by spreading the signal over a range of frequencies, multipath

interference is mitigated. The mathematics of spread spectrum
transmissions show that as long as the time delay is greater than the
chipping period multipath interference can be beneficial because
alternative (i.e., reflective) paths can ease the line-of-sight requirement
common in most radio telemetry applications

Code Division Multiple Access

If you effectively use the spread spectrum techniques outlined so far,

you can use a channel-sharing strategy different from the time domain
multiple access (TDMA) and frequency domain multiple access (FDMA)
techniques. In TDMA implementations, each transmitter is allocated a
time slot during which it is authorized to transmit. This implies that new
devices must somehow fit into the existing sequence or a new
configuration is necessary. FDMA requires that each transmitter stay on
the frequency allocated. Extensibility to new devices is problematic
without a carefully planned frequency allocation strategy.

Mixed Signal Design

As a rule, you cut your expenses when you implement a function on a

single IC. To a large extent, the cost of a viable implementation
determines the component count. Most sensors still consist of multiple
components. The integration of the components into subsystems and
finally functional blocks has kept the cost of sensing and measurement
systems relatively high while the cost of other electronic building blocks
has plummeted.

The economics of this approach make this desirable. Mixing analog,

digital, and radio frequency circuits on the same standard CMOS device
presents a number of technical challenges that are just now becoming
well understood.

Fully integrated electronics offer the additional advantage of consuming

less power. Sound design practice and intelligent power management
strategies are extending the battery life to intervals reasonable for plant-
floor applications.

Conclusion

Many have speculated that the Next Generation Internet will be much
more sensory interactive than the current Web. Adding the numbers of
sensors necessary to address this demand will bring the sensor
business to new paradigms. Preparing today to make this transition is
critical to the long-term success of an organization.

The next article in this series will address more of the economic issues
associated with wireless technology. We'll lay out a roadmap that you
can use to determine appropriate applications for early success. We'll
also examine more of the emerging trends to determine how they might
affect decision points and arguments for organizational commitments to
this technology. We will suggest critical partnership criteria to support
decisions related to the build/buy/subcontract dilemma. The important
issue here is for each organization to set a path that is comfortable and
potentially profitable for it as the wireless revolution sweeps through the
sensor, measurement, and control arenas.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

 John Brignell and Neil White. Intelligent Sensor Systems. Institute

of Physics Publishers, Philadelphia, 1996.

 W. Stadler. Analytical robotics and mechatronics. MacGraw-Hill,

1996.
 S.T. Picraux and P.J. McWhorter. December 1998. "The Broad
Sweep of Integrated Microsystems," IEEE Spectrum: 2433.
 C.L. Britton et al. March 2, 1998. "MEMS Sensors and Wireless
Telemetry for Distributed Systems," Proc of The SPIE Fifth
International Symposium on Smart Materials and Structures, San
Diego, CA.