Wireless Sensor Networks and Systems 

Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®) has significant experience in the research, design and development of embedded systems and wireless communications. SwRI has integrated commercially available, wireless-enabled microcontrollers with custom sensing hardware and embedded software to realize a variety of real-world applications. SwRI has deployed these wireless sensor nodes in challenging conditions to provide unparalleled characterization of environments once deemed inaccessible.

Wireless Sensor Node Development

SwRI engineers apply wireless sensor systems to a variety of custom applications. Some features and capabilities include:

• Low-cost, battery-powered, expendable sensor nodes
• Small onboard processors for data acquisition and telemetry
• Autonomous and cooperative mesh and mobile ad hoc networking
• Fusion of data from multiple sensors to provide node position, orientation and environment characterization

Application to Difficult Environments

SwRI has developed wireless sensor systems for measurement of earth processes in hazardous environments. Challenges include:

• Inaccessible locations
• Dangerous environments
• Long-term deployment
• Lack of power and communications infrastructure
• Loss of individual nodes

Precise Distance Measurement

SwRI has developed a wireless sensor network for characterizing high-precision movement and has deployed the system at an active landslide in remote Idaho. Features include:

• Radar-like distance measurement technique with accuracy to one millimeter
• Interrogator and responder nodes using phase difference to provide change in distance
• Delay lines to avoid pulse overlap and clock drift
• Distributed coordination and data acquisition using an IEEE 802.15-based wireless network

Underwater Sensing

SwRI has developed a neutrally buoyant waterborne sensor node for the mapping and characterization of karst aquifers. Features include:

• Ultrasonic ranging to provide distance to conduit geometry
• Real-time node velocity calculation using feature detection
• Magnetometer to provide vehicle compass heading
• Multiple additional sensors (e.g., thermometer, accelerometer) to provide further characterization of travel path
• Deployment in area water caves to autonomously map conduit characteristics

Cooperative Sensing

SwRI participated in a government-funded project to build prototype unmanned aerial vehicles to cooperatively locate targets of interest. Some features of the sensor system developed by SwRI include:

• Localization of hand-held communication devices using RF signatures
• Digital signal and software radio processing
• Multi-constraint optimization (e.g., power, stealth, accuracy, RF)
• Demodulation technique to enhance time difference of arrival ranging
• Propagation modeling using existing city models
• Distributed coordination and sensor data fusion

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