Wireless Sensor Networks are typically purpose-built, designed to support a single or complex running application. As the demand for applications that can harness the capabilities of a sensor-rich environment increases, the problem of the availability of sensing infrastructure that is put in place to monitor various quantities becomes a clear hindrance to sensor researchers who are mostly not supported through grants.
Every lecturer wants to contribute to their students intellectual growth, help them to gain new perspectives on topics that occupy their academic curriculum and help them to re-examine the key ideas and assumptions that shape the production of knowledge in WSN field.
Recently, Fujitsu Electronics Introduced Evaluation Kit for Wireless Sensor Networks that is intended for designing IoT applications and encapsulates Fujitsu Smart Network Technology in their own module. According to the Press release, The evaluation kit makes it easy to try out IoT applications, such as agricultural and nursery environment monitoring, environmental monitoring, facilities management and control, structure monitoring. Adding more to the development of the WisReed Communications Module, a 920 MHz Specified Low Power Radio module that includes FUJITSU Intelligent Society Solution WisReed, Fujitsu’s smart-network technology WisReed Communications Modules enables large-scale wireless sensor networks to be built.
The wireless sensor network evaluation kit includes five WisReed Communications Modules and evaluation tools. With five of the WisReed Communications Modules, it is easy to set up and try out ad-hoc networks where there can be up to three nodes between a gateway node and a given terminal sensor node. The route-display tool makes it easy to check the wireless communications pathways that are otherwise invisible. 5 WisReed Communications Module (One gateway node, four sensor nodes), Route-display tool (software) and Accessories (5 each of antennae, battery boxes, sensor-interface cables; 1 PC I/F cable, RSIL interface sample program, manual). The cost is of the Wireless Sensor Network Evaluation Kit JPY164,000
PowerCast, scaling sensor networks with power supplies that have limited life is an even bigger challenge. To ensure performance, batteries must either be replaced on a regular schedule, resulting in wasted battery life, or users must accept the risk of changing batteries only when a low voltage threshold is indicated. This might work for tens to a few hundred nodes, but the potential maintenance cost of replacing batteries for several hundreds or thousands of nodes becomes a continuous, cost-prohibitive, undertaking. ON World estimates the labor cost for changing batteries in wireless sensors will be greater than $1 billion over the next several years. The disruption and cost of battery replacement is a significant force constraining the growth of wireless sensor networks. Therefore, their product contains the P1110 Powerharvester for use in charging batteries or direct power applications with configurable overvoltage protection up to 4.2V and center frequency of 915 MHz, harvesting range of 850-950 MHz. On-board super-capacitor for battery simulation. LED for simple visual verification of operation and includes two antennas: 6.1 dBi directional and 1.0 dBi omni-directional.
EVAL-WSN have a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) demo platform that is flexible with modular system for evaluating all aspects of a WSN according to them. It offers both an out-of-the-box demonstration system, and can also be used as a development platform. It contains all of the hardware and software necessary to implement a plug-and-play WSN. The hardware includes a base station node along with multiple sensor nodes that support many different sensors. The system is flexible in that sensors can be connected in any combination to any of the sensor nodes. The out-of-the-box utility of the WSN development kits significantly reduces the time and effort required to move a customer’s design from proof-of-concept phase to production release through the marriage of three Multi-Sensor Node Boards, a gateway connector, an emulator platform, and a full featured software package.
National Instruments NI Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) Starter Kit contains everything you need to evaluate NI wireless sensor networks and LabVIEW. It also includes NI WSN Ethernet gateway and programmable ±10 V analog input and thermocouple input nodes. The Features are power supplies, sensors, NI-WSN and LabVIEW evaluation software, and getting started guide.
The Communication Networks Department of the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS developed AMB8627-s-EV evaluation kit. According to them, you can easily test the functionality of wireless sensor networks for our own applications. The evaluation kit consists of a master node and five sensor nodes that autonomously form a multihop network. This allows the exchange of data between the sensor nodes and the master node, which can be connected to a PC. The s-net® multihop technology makes it possible to establish wireless network coverage beyond the range of an individual node. Furthermore, due to the compact design of the AMB8627-s wireless modules, the sensor network operates in an efficient, energy-saving manner. The Costs: € 690,-plus VAT.
The MEMSIC Professional Kit according to the company provides a comprehensive and cost-effective platform for the evaluation and development of wireless sensor network applications either in the 2.4GHz or 868/916 MHz ISM bands. The professional kit provides all the components needed for rapidly deploying a multi-hop wireless sensor mesh network. The sensor nodes and gateway are pre-configured with MEMSIC’s reliable, self-forming, self-healing mesh networking software (XMesh)
DecaWave EVK1000 Evaluation Kit is optimised for unrivalled indoor precision location and data communications for Real Time Location Systems and Wireless Sensor Networks. It operates across a wide variety of markets, including ePOS and retail, automotive, agriculture, building control and automation, factory automation, healthcare, safety and security, warehousing and logistics and a range of others. DecaWave’s technology allows longer battery operation thanks to their dramatically reduced power consumption. It also resolves the multipath fading issue as a result of its use of IR-UWB, enabling higher degrees of flexibility in the deployment of wireless networks and sensor positioning, together with increased communication reliability.
PowerbyProxi offers customized wireless solutions to supply power and data to sensors in a range of environments with advanced wireless power technology provides a safe and convenient alternative to ensure efficient delivery of power to multiple sensors simultaneously. They call it call it the Proxi-Loom. The Proxi-Loom creates a true Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) which eliminates many of the design constraints and costs associated involved in a traditional wired sensor environment. They are also able to implement a wireless data transmission solution which can be integrated alongside their wireless power solutions. The combination of wireless power and data provides a means to increase the number of sensors and complexity of networks without adding to the sheer volume (and costs) of physical cables.
Phase IV Engineering pioneered the use of wireless RFID sensors, they developed the world’s first RFID sensor integrated circuit in 1994 and they have spent more than 23 years on the cutting edge of RFID sensor design. RFID (passive) sensors are unique in that they transmit sensor data with no battery.
Nebusens has evolved in becoming a leading company in the field of Wireless Sensor Networks and Real-Time Locating Systems. The award-winning and state-of-the-art products now compete worldwide thanks to their consolidated distribution network and clients around the world. Nebusens is working on providing the most advanced WSN and RTLS experience. The company released a statement that they will continue to focus on new areas where the application of highly integrated WSN and RTLS will create a better future for people, through energy-efficient solutions and the use of mobile devices. The application includes: Real Time Locating which involves Locating and tracking people, assets and animals, access control, leak detection, warning systems and call for help, security perimeter control, resource optimization.
They are also into Telemonitoring and Automation- which involves: Control of energy expenditure, monitoring consumption patterns, monitoring and control of electrical and electronic equipment, environmental data monitoring, lighting and climate control, automation scenes, sensing and industrial and domestic automation.
Source
Fujitsu Electronics
Powercast
EVAL-WSN
NI
Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits
MEMSIC Professional Kit
DecaWave
PowerbyProxi
Phase IV Engineering
Nebusens