Wireless Transducer Interface Module for Smart Sensor Network with Localization Capability

Homeland security and first responders need high quality & timely information upon which to make critical decisions. In a number of homeland security scenarios, the information will be a distillation of data gathered from an array of sensors. Such data can consist of temperature, vibration and the like along with the position of each sensor. This project proposes meeting this need through an innovative combination of GPS technologies and wireless sensors using the IEEE 1451 family of standards. Each sensor or actuator will connect to a Transducer Interface Module (TIM) that provides the necessary sensor communications capability. Each TIM contains standard GPS that will be augmented with a variation of differential GPS and inertial navigation to meet the positional accuracy requirements. COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: The Department of Homeland Security has a wide variety of people and places to protect - 240 cities over 100,000 residents, 213 commercial airports, 385 stadiums, water supplies, bridges, hospitals, schools and office buildings. The Department of Defense, the Transportation Security Administration, the Department of Energy and the EPA all have reasons to locate and neutralize hazards, particularly ones that may be in transit from one location to another. In Manufacturing, the earlier a problem is found, the less waste and rework result. Installing wireless sensors saves 2/3 of the cost of wired sensors because of reduced labor costs. OnWorld's research team projects a market of 165 million sensors worth $662 million in 2010.