Embedded Structural Platform Analysis Network (eSPAN)TM

Impact Technologies is creating a low-power, modular wireless sensor network for health and usage monitoring of bridge and vehicle structures. The system utilizes a mesh network of flexible sensor nodes connected to a communication node that transmits high-level health metrics to an external system over a standard vehicle data bus. System intelligence will be distributed among individual nodes to reduce the required communication bandwidth and allow system capabilities to be customized for various structures and vehicle platforms. The system will autonomously generate high-level health metrics without placing a processing burden on existing vehicle management systems. Key tasks in Phase I are to: 1) identify key target platforms and critical specifications required to assess system health; 2) evaluate relevant communication standards and interfaces for vehicle communication busses; 3) produce low-level indicators of structural degradation and develop appropriate sensing and measuring methods; 4) develop a wireless transmission architecture to efficiently transmit data to the coordinating node for retransmission over the vehicle data bus; 5) perform a trade study to examine suitability of adapting the system to new or existing vehicles and structures using different sensor configurations; 6) create a plan to supply power to the sensor network on various platforms.