Andrew J. Macdonald

Zigbee-based intra-car wireless sensor networks: a case study

There is a growing interest in eliminating the wires connecting sensors to the microprocessors in cars due to an increasing number of sensors deployed in modern cars. One option for implementing an intra-car wireless sensor network is the use of ZigBee technology. In this article we report the results of a ZigBee-based case study conducted in a vehicle. Overall, the results of the experiments and measurements show that ZigBee is a viable and promising technology for implementing an intra-car wireless sensor network.

Feasibility of In-car Wireless Sensor Networks: A Statistical Evaluation

Statistical characterization of in-car wireless communication channels has recently gained significance, mainly due to the possibility of deploying a wireless sensor network in the vehicle. In this paper, we report different aspects of a statistical analysis of four representative in- car wireless channels based on the received power data collected from a binary phase shift keying (BPSK) transmission experiment. It is shown that the communication channel between the base station and a sensor placed under the engine compartment is the worst in terms of stability, average fade duration, and fade proportion, while the channel between the base station and a sensor placed in the trunk and the channel between the base station and a sensor placed on the hood are the best. We also show that the 4 representative in-car wireless channels can satisfy the maximum packet delay requirement of less than 500 ms and the trunk channel and the in-the-engine-compartment channels can satisfy the requirement of up to 98% packet reception rate. These statistical characteristics of the in- car wireless channels provide important guidelines for the designer of an in-car sensor system.

ZigBee-based Intra-car Wireless Sensor Network

Due to an increasing number of sensors deployed in cars, recently there is a growing interest in implementing a wireless sensor network within a car. In this paper, we report the results of packet transmission experiments using ZigBee sensor nodes within a car under various scenarios. The results of the experiments suggest that both Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) and Link Quality Indicator (LQI) can only be used as a threshold-based indicator to evaluate the link quality - indicating poor link quality when dropping below a certain threshold. Preliminary experimental results show that a detection algorithm developed by the authors based on RSSI/LQI/error patterns and an adaptive strategy might increase the goodput performance of the link while improving power consumption of the radio.

RFID Technology for Intra-Car Communications: A New Paradigm

In this paper we investigate the potential application of RFID technology in future cars as a cheaper, more reliable, and secure wireless alternative to the current wired operation in the engine compartment and other parts of a car where several sensors are connected to adapters which, in turn, are connected to a serial data bus for carrying the measured sensor data to various embedded microprocessors. The preliminary measurement results show that the coherence bandwidths of various channels between a reader and several RFID tags placed into different locations in the car are sufficiently large for the purpose of in-car sensor network communications while the power losses of certain channels are quite excessive and a special distributed antenna system may be required to deal with the problem.

Intra-Car Wireless Sensor Networks Using RFID: Opportunities and Challenges

Building a wireless sensor network in a car has important benefits in terms of cost reduction, having an open architecture, and fuel efficiency. One option for implementing such an intra-car wireless network is to use RFID technology. In this paper, we report the results of extensive experiments carried out at Carnegie Mellon University in collaboration with General Motors for understanding the capabilities and limitations of RFID technology.

Demodulation performance of multiband UWB communication system with one RF and ADC module receiver

This paper studies the BER performance of a multiband UWB system with a common RF and ADC module in the receiver. Communication signals in multiple RF bands are received by one UWB antenna. The ADC samples the received signal in a swath. This means that the RF signals with lower frequencies are oversampled. Using the ADC output signal, the demodulator demodulates each RF signal individually. The quantization noise process depends on the resolution of the ADC and is considered as a uniform distribution. The bit error rate of each RF signal is analyzed. Numerical results are provided for different ADC resolution. The results can help system designer to choose the right resolution for ADC in multiband UWB communications systems.