Research On Infrastructural Technology To Build Sensor Networks Applications

With technology advances in microecletronics, MEMS, Computer, and network communications, it's possible to build highly intergrated, ready-to-run autonomous smart sensors, with features of self-identification and self-description. This type of autonomous smart sensors can make up self-oranizational sensor networks, greatly simplify sensor network system deployment, set-up and application development.Detailed Inspects the general procedure, technical infrastructure and tools needed to build sensor based test and measurement systems. Compares sensor networks with tranditional sensors, describes tranditional sensor based test system set-up, point out how IEEE 1451.4 can simplify this set-up procedure. Describes node management issues of sensor networks, point out that sensor networks need specially designed application layer protocol, and this protocol should automatically makeup a network, and automatically parse network traffic data.With the reference of IEEE 1451 series standards, this paper presents a lightweight application layer protocol–AgileSN, for autonomous smart transducers. It is simple to understand and easy to implement, with the properties of automatic node detection, high performance and high scalability. This paper further describes the AgileSN model and working procedure in detail, makes comparisons with IEEE 1451, introduces an implementation, and gives a software simulated AgileSN node example.Presents a run-time reconfigurable virtual instrumentation software platform-IsVIP, it adopts component based open architecture, provides two extension points: device console and software control, can supports any device and can realize any function; it also adopts data flow model, multiple data flow processing tasks can run simultaneously; the virtual instrument function in IsVIP is realized throw software controls and the wires between them, controls and wires can be added or removed at run time, and take effects immediately, then the instrument system visual interface and running logic changed; it also supports the high throughput pipeline execution model, achieving parallel performance through serial architecture, can process higher volume incoming data.Study the performance of IsVIP detaily, especially the 2 performance indicators: throughput and dealy. Through theoretical analysis, software simulation and real permance measurement, shows that the pipeline execution model can greatly improve peak throughput, some times can even improve several times. And the dealy indicator get worse only when the bottle neck stage placed back and data supply rate larger than the process capability.Two examples of building IsVIP applications were given. The first example is using AgileSN sensor node to acquire PC performance parameter, the second example is to apply a DAQ device supporting NI-DAQmx driver and an intergrated temperature sensor to build temperature measurement system, showing how through simple point and click operation to build test and measurement system.