Design of a Low-Power Automatic Wireless Multi-logger Networking Device

Virtually every industry and discipline (e.g., mining, pharmaceutical, construction, agriculture, reclamation, etc.) is finding applications for wireless data acquisition for monitoring and managing processes and resources. Two sectors, namely agriculture and environmental research, are seeking ways...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Lewis, Kelly S.
Format: Others
Published: DigitalCommons@USU 2007
Subjects:
Online Access:https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/269
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1268&context=etd
Description
Summary:Virtually every industry and discipline (e.g., mining, pharmaceutical, construction, agriculture, reclamation, etc.) is finding applications for wireless data acquisition for monitoring and managing processes and resources. Two sectors, namely agriculture and environmental research, are seeking ways to obtain distributed soil and plant measurements over larger areas like a watershed or large fields rather than a single site of intensive instrumentation (i.e., a weather station). Wireless sensor networks and remote sensing have been explored as a means to satisfy this need. Commercial products are readily available that have remote wireless options to support distributed senor networking. However, these systems have been designed with a field engineer or technician as the target end-user. Equipment and operating costs, device specific programming languages, and complex wireless configuration schemes have impeded the adoption of large-scale, multi-node wireless systems in these fields. This report details the development of an easy-to-use, ultra-low power wireless datalogger incorporating a scalable, intelligent data collection and transmission topology. The final product can interface to various sensor types including SDI-12 and uses an LCD display to help simplify device setup.