Wireless Sensor Network Development and Prospects

The development of science and technology is getting faster and faster, and human beings are already in the information age. The sensor technology, which is the most important and basic technology for information acquisition, has also been greatly developed. The sensor information acquisition technology has gradually evolved from the simplification of the past to the direction of integration, miniaturization, and networking, and will bring about an information revolution.

The development process back in the 70s of last century, the emergence of the traditional sensor using point-to-point transmission, connecting the sensor controller to form the prototype of the sensor network, we regarded it as the first generation of sensor networks. With the continuous development and progress of related disciplines, the sensor network also has integrated processing capabilities for acquiring a variety of information signals, and in combination with sensor controllers, it forms a sensor network with information integration and processing capabilities. This is the second generation sensor network. Since the end of the last century, fieldbus technology has begun to be applied to sensor networks. People use it to build intelligent sensor networks, and a large number of multi-functional sensors are used, and wireless technology is used to connect to the company.

Wireless sensor networks are a new generation of sensor networks and have a very wide range of application prospects. Their development and application will bring far-reaching influence to human life and production. Developed countries such as the United States attach great importance to the development of wireless sensor networks. All rights reserved by IEEE Engineers, IEEE is striving to promote the application and development of wireless sensor networks, and Boston University has recently founded the Sensor Network Consortium. Promote the development of sensor networking technology. In addition to Boston University, the association also includes BP, Honeywell, Inetco Systems, Invensys, L-3 Communications, Millennial Net, Radianse, Sensicast Systems, and Textron Systems. When the US "Technical Review" magazine discusses the next ten emerging technologies, it will also list wireless sensor networks as the first emerging technology in the future. Among the four new technologies forecasted by BusinessWeek in the future, wireless sensor networks are also included in the list. among them. It can be expected that the widespread use of wireless sensor networks is an inevitable trend, and its emergence will bring great changes to human society.

Application Status Although the large-scale commercial application of wireless sensor networks, which is copyrighted by CONTROLENGINEERING China, will take some time due to technical and other constraints, in recent years, as computing costs have decreased and microprocessors have become smaller and smaller, A lot of wireless sensor networks are put into use. The current application of wireless sensor networks mainly focuses on the following areas:

1Environmental monitoring and protection As people pay more and more attention to environmental issues, more and more environmental data needs to be collected. The emergence of wireless sensor networks facilitates the acquisition of random research data, and can also provide Avoid the intrusive destruction of the environment caused by traditional data collection methods. For instance, researchers at Intel Research Labs once linked 32 small sensors to the Internet to read the weather on Maine Island in Maine to evaluate the condition of a nest of nests. Wireless sensor networks can also track migration of migratory birds and insects, study the effects of environmental changes on crops, and monitor the composition of the ocean, atmosphere, and soil. In addition, it can also be applied to the copyright of precision agriculture to monitor pests and soil pH and fertilization status in crops.

2 Medical care Wireless sensor networks can also be used in medical research and nursing.

Scientists at the University of Rochester used wireless sensors to create a smart medical room that uses dust to measure important signs of the occupants (blood pressure, pulse, and breathing), sleeping posture, and 24-hour activity. Intel also introduced wireless sensor network home care technology. The technology was developed as a link to the Centerfor Aging Services Technologies (CAST), a technology project that addresses the aging society. The system helps elderly people, Alzheimer's patients, and people with disabilities live in families by embedding semiconductor sensors in homes and equipment such as shoes and furniture. The use of wireless communications to network sensors can efficiently deliver the necessary information to facilitate care. But also can reduce the burden on nursing staff. Eric Dishman, director of Intel's Director of Research on Preventive Health Insurance, said: "The wireless sensor network is a very promising area for the development of home care technology."

3 Military The wireless sensor network is characterized by intensive and random distribution, which makes it very suitable for use in harsh battlefield environments, making it very suitable for use in harsh battlefield environments, including reconnaissance, monitoring forces, equipment, and supplies. , Judging biochemical attack and many other uses. The US Department of Defense’s Vision Research Institute has invested tens of millions of dollars. Cn helps the university to develop the "smart dust" sensor technology. Almendinger, president of Haber Research, predicts that smart dust sensors and related technology sales will increase from 10 million US dollars in 2004 to several billion US dollars in 2010.