Sidebar: Smart Sensoring -- How It Works

By Julia King

March 1, 2004 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - One of the most recent applications of today's smarter, energy-saving sensor networks is on the Ben Franklin Bridge, which spans the Delaware River, linking Philadelphia and Camden, N.J.
The bridge carries automobile, train and pedestrian traffic. Bridge officials want to measure the strain on the structure as high-speed commuter trains cross.
MicroStrain Inc. installed a series of 10 smart sensors, which they programmed to "sleep" most of the time. The sensors wake up only when they sense a train approaching.
"If we were trying to monitor high data rates all of the time, we'd basically be flooding the system with information that wouldn't be important," explains MicroStrain President Steve Arms.
There also are power advantages to the sleep-mode arrangement. "The sensors will last one year in this sleep mode. Otherwise, they would have lasted a period of weeks at best," he says.
Arms credits the ability to fine-tune sensors' activities not to the sensors themselves, but to rapid advances in microcontrollers, which "are getting so powerful that they can be programmed to do a lot of different things. Having software sensibility on the node itself is really what you want. Having that software flexibility is critical," he says.
Indeed, it is what will allow the Delaware River Port Authority to conduct a trial under which it will use a cell phone network to access the sensor network on the bridge and reprogram the way it measures and transmits strain data.
As more programmable intelligence is built into the sensors themselves, Arms envisions end users taking greater control of the sensor networks they install. "We want to enable our customers to go in and reconfigure nodes with the intelligence they want them to have," he says.
For example, they may choose to have the sensors transmit data only when conditions are out of a preset normal range. "What this means is a great reduction in the amount of radio-transmitted data," Arms says. "Rather than have nodes [continuously] transmit lots of information, they'll transmit classifications of data. Then, alerts or alarms can trigger an e-mail or cell phone call for an engineer to come and take a look."

Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Additional Resources

Xerox

Win a color printer!

By using solid ink technology only from Xerox, you could save up to 65% by printing color for the cost of black and white. Enter for a chance to WIN a PhaserTM 8860 network color printer!

Microsoft

Upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 today.

Save time and mitigate security risk. Deploy it now.

Sybase

NEXT-GENERATION MOBILITY PLATFORMS

In this white paper, IDC analyzes the role of next-generation mobile enterprise platforms as organizations seek a more strategic deployment of mobile solutions.

Learn the important issues you must consider before starting your next mobility initiative. Get your mobility white paper from IDC now, compliments of Sybase.

White Papers & Webcasts

Hidden Cash: Maximizing the Value of Surplus Technology in a Down Economy
In today's tightened economy, all major technology purchases are being carefully scrutinized to ensure that each new piece of hardware and software can...

Usability Is Everything
Learn what sets Workday's HR and Payroll solutions apart from the competition....

Your Network at Half the Price: Slash Network Hardware Costs With Pre-Owned Equipment
Pre-owned networking equipment is certainly less expensive than the new variety, but IT managers are often challenged to know when and how to...

The Value of Real SaaS at Workday
Cost savings, speed to value, and innovation brought to the enterprise by Workday's software-as-a-service solutions for HR and Payroll....

Impact of the Dramatic Increase in Devices on the Cost to Support
This white paper describes the challenges that CIOs will face in coming years due to a dramatic increase in the number of devices...

SaaS at Flextronics, Inc.
Dave Smoley, CIO of Flextronics, discusses the real value of software-as-a-service and why he chose Workday for his HR solution....

Help Customers Preserve and Share Memories
As digital cameras became more and more prevalent, many photofinishers bemoaned the demise of their traditional film and processing business model. Digital posed...

Why Compliance Pays
This OnDemand webcast explores the relationship that firms with best compliance records have higher revenue, greater customer retention, lower financial losses from data...

For Best Results, Think Beyond the Box
Technology is complex. Keeping it running productively shouldn't be. To that end, you want to minimize the number of solutions needed in-house to...

Agile Enterprise Content Management (ECM) for Rapid ROI
Find out how combining ECM and BPM will help adress issues about content rich business processes....

All White Papers | All Webcasts