WIRELESS SENSOR

NETWORKS
--- an overview
 Overview
 Introduction
 Sensor & Wireless Sensor Network
 Components of WSN
 Deployment of WSN
 Unique characteristics of WSN
 Application of WSN (Military, Environment, Home and
Other )
 Factors influencing sensor network design
 Communication architecture of sensor network
 Current research projects
 Conclusion
 What is a sensor ?
A sensor is a device that measures a physical
quantity and converts it into a signal which can
be read by an observer or by an instrument. For
accuracy, most sensors are calibrated against
known standards.

Sensor faucet
Thermocouple sensor
What is a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN)
?
A wireless sensor network (WSN) consists of
spatially distributed autonomous sensors
cooperatively monitor physical or
environmental conditions, such as
temperature, sound, vibration, pressure,
motion or pollutants.

Wireless Sensor Network

 Components of a WSN
 Sensor node. Also known as a ‘mote’. These usually
consists of

 a controller
 one or more sensors
 a transceiver
 an external memory Sensor Node Architecture
 a power source

 A base station which acts as a gateway between sensor

nodes and end users.
 How are WSNs deployed ?

They are deployed either of these ways ;

 Densely deployed inside the phenomenon.

 Deployed very close to the phenomenon.

 Position of sensor nodes need not be pre -

determined or engineered.
 Unique Characteristics of a WSN

 Can harvest or store only limited power

 Ability to withstand harsh environmental conditions
 Ability to cope with node failures
 Mobility of nodes
 Dynamic network topology
 Large scale of deployment
 Node capacity is scalable, only limited by bandwidth
of gateway node.
 Random deployment
 Cooperative capability
Application of Wireless Sensor Networks

MILITARY APPLICATIONS

 Monitoring friendly forces, equipment and

ammunition
 Reconnaissance of opposing forces and terrain
 Battlefield surveillance
 Battle damage assessment
 Nuclear, biological and chemical attack
detection
Application of Wireless Sensor Networks

ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATIONS

 Forest fire detection

 Bio-complexity mapping of the environment
 Flood detection
 Precision agriculture
 Application of Wireless Sensor Networks

HEALTH APPLICATIONS

 Tele-monitoring of human physiological data

 Tracking and monitoring patients and doctors
inside a hospital
 Drug administration in hospitals
Application of Wireless Sensor Networks

HOME AND OTHER COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS

 Home automation and Smart environment

 Interactive museums
 Managing inventory control
 Vehicle tracking and detection
 Detecting and monitoring car thefts
Factors influencing sensor network design

 Fault Tolerance
 Scalability
 Hardware Constraints
 Sensor Network Topology
 Environment
 Transmission Media
 Power Consumption
Communication architecture of sensor
networks
• Combine power and
routing awareness

• Integrates date with

networking protocols

• Communicates power
efficiently through the
wireless medium

• Promotes cooperative
efforts among sensor
nodes.
CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS
 Other interesting applications
 MIT d'Arbeloff Lab – The ring sensor
 Monitors the physiological status of the wearer
and transmits the information to the medical
practitioner over the Internet.

 Oak Ridge National Laboratory

 Nose-on-a-chip is a MEMS-based sensor
 It can detect 400 species of gases and transmit
a signal indicating the level to a central control
station
 Interesting The system, designed by eProvenance,
Applications includes three physical components: a semi-
active RFID-tag placed inside the shipping
case to monitor and record temperatures
and improve shipping and receiving
operations throughout the distribution
chain; a passive RFID-tag with a unique
code attached to the base of the bottle to
automate tracking and inventory
management, and discourage pilferage; and
a proprietary, tamper-proof neck seal with a
covert code applied at the base of the
capsule to authenticate the wine inside the
bottle.
 A high-speed, encrypted, online database
links each unique bottle, case and capsule,
Uniquely coded RFID collecting identification numbers, along with
tag at the base of the authentication data from the château,
bottle shipment data, temperature records to create
the electronic pedigree for each bottle.
 Conclusion
Smart environments represent the next
evolutionary development step in building ,
utilities, industrial, home and transportation
systems automation. However to fully realize
the sensor networks, one needs to satisfy the
constraints introduced by the factors. Many
researchers are currently engaged in
developing the technologies needed for
different layers of the sensor network protocol
stack.