04-12-2012, 03:52 PM
Industrial wireless sensor network:challenges Design principle,technical approachs
[attachment=42465]
Abstract
In today’s competitive industry marketplace, the
companies face growing demands to improve process efficiencies,
comply with environmental regulations, and meet corporate financial
objectives. Given the increasing age of many industrial
systems and the dynamic industrial manufacturing market, intelligent
and low-cost industrial automation systems are required to
improve the productivity and efficiency of such systems. The collaborative
nature of industrial wireless sensor networks (IWSNs)
brings several advantages over traditional wired industrial monitoring
and control systems, including self-organization, rapid
deployment, flexibility, and inherent intelligent-processing capability.
In this regard, IWSN plays a vital role in creating a highly
reliable and self-healing industrial system that rapidly responds
to real-time events with appropriate actions. In this paper, first,
technical challenges and design principles are introduced in terms
of hardware development, system architectures and protocols, and
software development. Specifically, radio technologies, energyharvesting
techniques, and cross-layer design for IWSNs have
been discussed. In addition, IWSN standards are presented for
the system owners, who plan to utilize new IWSN technologies for
industrial automation applications. In this paper, our aim is to provide
a contemporary look at the current state of the art in IWSNs
and discuss the still-open research issues in this field and, hence,
to make the decision-making process more effective and direct.
INTRODUCTION
IN TODAY’S competitive industry marketplace, the companies
face growing demands to improve process efficiencies,
comply with environmental regulations, and meet corporate
financial objectives. Given the increasing age of many industrial
systems and the dynamic industrial manufacturing market,
intelligent and low-cost industrial automation systems are required
to improve the productivity and efficiency of such systems
[6], [28]. Traditionally, industrial automation systems are
realized through wired communications. However, the wired
automation systems require expensive communication cables
to be installed and regularly maintained, and thus, they are not
widely implemented in industrial plants because of their high
cost [29]. Therefore, there is an urgent need for cost-effective
wireless automation systems that enable significant savings and
reduce air-pollutant emissions by optimizing the management
of industrial systems.
CHALLENGES
The major technical challenges for realization of IWSNs can
be outlined as follows.
1) Resource constraints: The design and implementation
of IWSNs are constrained by three types of resources:
a) energy; b) memory; and c) processing. Constrained by
the limited physical size, sensor nodes have limited battery
energy supply [6]. At the same time, their memories
are limited and have restricted computational capabilities.
2) Dynamic topologies and harsh environmental conditions:
In industrial environments, the topology and connectivity
of the network may vary due to link and sensor-node
failures. Furthermore, sensors may also be subject to RF
interference, highly caustic or corrosive environments,
high humidity levels, vibrations, dirt and dust, or other
conditions that challenge performance [28]. These harsh
environmental conditions and dynamic network topologies
may cause a portion of industrial sensor nodes to
malfunction [7].
3) Quality-of-service (QoS) requirements: The wide variety
of applications envisaged on IWSNs will have different
QoS requirements and specifications. The QoS provided
by IWSNs refers to the accuracy between the data reported
to the sink node (the control center) and what
is actually occurring in the industrial environment. In
addition, since sensor data are typically time-sensitive,
e.g., alarm notifications for the industrial facilities, it
is important to receive the data at the sink in a timely
manner. Data with long latency due to processing or communication
may be outdated and lead to wrong decisions
in the monitoring system.
DESIGN GOALS
The existing and potential applications of IWSNs span a
very wide range, including building automation, industrialprocess
automation, electric-utility automation, automatic meter
reading, and inventory management [2]. To deal with the
technical challenges and meet the diverse IWSN application
requirements, the following design goals need to be followed.
1) Low-cost and small sensor nodes: Compact and lowcost
sensor devices are essential to accomplish largescale
deployments of IWSNs. Note that the system owner
should consider the cost of ownership (packaging requirements,
modifications, maintainability, etc.), implementation
costs, replacement and logistics costs, and training
and servicing costs as well as the per unit costs all
together [9].
[attachment=42465]
Abstract
In today’s competitive industry marketplace, the
companies face growing demands to improve process efficiencies,
comply with environmental regulations, and meet corporate financial
objectives. Given the increasing age of many industrial
systems and the dynamic industrial manufacturing market, intelligent
and low-cost industrial automation systems are required to
improve the productivity and efficiency of such systems. The collaborative
nature of industrial wireless sensor networks (IWSNs)
brings several advantages over traditional wired industrial monitoring
and control systems, including self-organization, rapid
deployment, flexibility, and inherent intelligent-processing capability.
In this regard, IWSN plays a vital role in creating a highly
reliable and self-healing industrial system that rapidly responds
to real-time events with appropriate actions. In this paper, first,
technical challenges and design principles are introduced in terms
of hardware development, system architectures and protocols, and
software development. Specifically, radio technologies, energyharvesting
techniques, and cross-layer design for IWSNs have
been discussed. In addition, IWSN standards are presented for
the system owners, who plan to utilize new IWSN technologies for
industrial automation applications. In this paper, our aim is to provide
a contemporary look at the current state of the art in IWSNs
and discuss the still-open research issues in this field and, hence,
to make the decision-making process more effective and direct.
INTRODUCTION
IN TODAY’S competitive industry marketplace, the companies
face growing demands to improve process efficiencies,
comply with environmental regulations, and meet corporate
financial objectives. Given the increasing age of many industrial
systems and the dynamic industrial manufacturing market,
intelligent and low-cost industrial automation systems are required
to improve the productivity and efficiency of such systems
[6], [28]. Traditionally, industrial automation systems are
realized through wired communications. However, the wired
automation systems require expensive communication cables
to be installed and regularly maintained, and thus, they are not
widely implemented in industrial plants because of their high
cost [29]. Therefore, there is an urgent need for cost-effective
wireless automation systems that enable significant savings and
reduce air-pollutant emissions by optimizing the management
of industrial systems.
CHALLENGES
The major technical challenges for realization of IWSNs can
be outlined as follows.
1) Resource constraints: The design and implementation
of IWSNs are constrained by three types of resources:
a) energy; b) memory; and c) processing. Constrained by
the limited physical size, sensor nodes have limited battery
energy supply [6]. At the same time, their memories
are limited and have restricted computational capabilities.
2) Dynamic topologies and harsh environmental conditions:
In industrial environments, the topology and connectivity
of the network may vary due to link and sensor-node
failures. Furthermore, sensors may also be subject to RF
interference, highly caustic or corrosive environments,
high humidity levels, vibrations, dirt and dust, or other
conditions that challenge performance [28]. These harsh
environmental conditions and dynamic network topologies
may cause a portion of industrial sensor nodes to
malfunction [7].
3) Quality-of-service (QoS) requirements: The wide variety
of applications envisaged on IWSNs will have different
QoS requirements and specifications. The QoS provided
by IWSNs refers to the accuracy between the data reported
to the sink node (the control center) and what
is actually occurring in the industrial environment. In
addition, since sensor data are typically time-sensitive,
e.g., alarm notifications for the industrial facilities, it
is important to receive the data at the sink in a timely
manner. Data with long latency due to processing or communication
may be outdated and lead to wrong decisions
in the monitoring system.
DESIGN GOALS
The existing and potential applications of IWSNs span a
very wide range, including building automation, industrialprocess
automation, electric-utility automation, automatic meter
reading, and inventory management [2]. To deal with the
technical challenges and meet the diverse IWSN application
requirements, the following design goals need to be followed.
1) Low-cost and small sensor nodes: Compact and lowcost
sensor devices are essential to accomplish largescale
deployments of IWSNs. Note that the system owner
should consider the cost of ownership (packaging requirements,
modifications, maintainability, etc.), implementation
costs, replacement and logistics costs, and training
and servicing costs as well as the per unit costs all
together [9].