Lukasz Niestoruk

A simplified protocol for energy self-sufficient sensors in an IEEE 802.15.4/ZigBee WSN

For the application of wireless sensor network technology in an energy self-sufficient condition monitoring appliance, we propose a new hybrid network topology to combine the advantages of the ZigBee standard with the need for lowest power consumption when applying an energy harvesting solution for a subset of the sensor nodes. For a research project on a wireless condition monitoring system, we developed a prototype implementation of a partly energy self-sufficient wireless sensor network. We adapted the ZigBee network protocols so that the energy consumption of the self-sufficient nodes is reduced albeit a ZigBee conform communication with the rest of the network is still ensured. In this paper, the prototype system is presented and the problem when applying a full ZigBee stack is stated. We propose to shift parts of the network functionality from the end-devices to the (mains- or battery powered) routers and show actual measurement results and calculated values to indicate the improvements of this adapted hybrid topology.

Real-time environmental emission monitoring on construction sites

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in wireless sensor networks for monitoring systems within the civil and structural engineering community. There has been not only research on wireless sensor networks for monitoring structural performance and health, but also on localization of building materials and construction machinery. Furthermore, wireless sensor networks are due to their potential of reducing wiring cost also recently investigated for monitoring disturbing emissions like air pollution, noise and hazardous ground vibrations. We propose a wireless sensor network system enabling long term and real-time monitoring of environmental parameters, to detect emissions on a construction site and ensure the compliance of maximum permissible values in real-time. In this novel approach we combine various sensors measuring specific environmental parameters (dust, noise, vibration, position, timestamps), a data acquisition unit, and a radio unit to directly transfer information to a data sink. We conclude that the proposed system offers great possibilities for future deployments at low cost.

The experimental results of tissue thickness estimation with UWB signals for the purpose of detecting water accumulations in the human body

Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is a very promising opportunity for the realization of a mobile and continuous on-body system for the detection and quantification of water accumulations in the human body. Such a system could drastically reduce costs in different areas of urology and cardiology extending the field of self care systems. It allows estimation of water amounts in human organs (e.g. the bladder or the lung) by processing reflected UWB signals. This paper presents and discusses initial experimental results concerning the estimation of the thickness of tissue layers in the urinary bladder cross-section model. The configuration of UWB radar hardware and antenna placements as well as analysis the comparison of the results achieved with different signal processing methods can be found here.

A concept for wearable long-term urinary bladder monitoring with ultrasound. Feasibility study

Urinary incontinence as a result of neurological or age-related diseases is a very disturbing problem concerning a significant percentage of the population. People afflicted with this disorder cannot control the arbitrary filling of the urinary bladder. The most widespread solution is catheterization, which is neither pleasant nor harmless. A device monitoring bladder fill level could remind patients about the need for a draining, grant them greater comfort and save their health and costs. We developed a concept of a wearable ultrasound system for continuous monitoring. Our system does not use ultrasound gel, but implements a dry coupling. This is why in contrary to existing ready-to-use systems, it can work automatically and continuously. For the duration of the cyclic measurements the skin adheres to the transducer and transmission becomes high enough to make the estimation of the bladder fill level with ultrasound possible. We present the results of a feasibility study. We empirically examined the power transmission as a function of adhering force for different skin samples and compared it with values achieved using ultrasound gel. For this purpose we constructed ultrasound transmitting and receiving hardware and a setup enabling to set and measure the applied force. Based on further calculations we confirmed that the level of the received reflected signal is high enough to successfully estimate the amount of urine in the bladder.