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- Cognitive radio for medical body area networks using ultra widebandPublication . Chavez-Santiago, Raul; Nolan, Keith E.; Holland, Oliver; De Nardis, Luca; Ferro, João M.; Barroca, Norberto; Borges, Luís M.; Velez, Fernando J.; Goncalves, Vânia; Balasingham, IlangkoWearable wireless medical sensors beneficially impact the healthcare sector, and this market is experiencing rapid growth. In the United States alone, the telecommunications services market for the healthcare sector is forecast to increase from $7.5 billion in 2008 to $11.3 billion in 2013. Medical body area networks improve the mobility of patients and medical personnel during surgery, accelerate the patients’ recovery, and facilitate the remote monitoring of patients suffering from chronic diseases. Currently, MBANs are being introduced in unlicensed frequency bands, where the risk of mutual interference with other electronic devices can be high. Techniques developed during the evolution of cognitive radio can potentially alleviate these problems in medical communication environments. In addition, these techniques can help increase the efficiency of spectrum usage to accommodate the rapidly growing demand for wireless MBAN solutions and enhance coexistence with other collocated wireless systems. This article proposes a viable architecture of an MBAN with practical CR features based on ultra wideband radio technology. UWB signals offer many advantages to MBANs, and some features of this technology can be exploited for effective implementation of CR. We discuss the physical and MAC layer aspects of the proposal in addition to the implementation challenges.
- Survey on the Characterization and Classification of Wireless Sensor Network ApplicationsPublication . Borges, Luís M.; Velez, Fernando J.; Lebres, António S.Nowadays, wireless sensor network (WSN) users are demanding more and more in terms of choice and diversity of applications. Hence, as the diversity of applications is increasing, it is worthwhile to propose a structure for the set of characterization parameters that allows sketching a taxonomy for WSN applications. This taxonomy is established via an application-oriented approach, identifying the specific services offered by each application. In this survey, we fill this gap in the WSN literature by describing the characterization parameters, organized into six different categories. Our taxonomy for application classification is centered on the different sets of parameters that have high impact on a given future WSN application. Typical attributes and values from related research works are considered as a reference, but in this survey, we propose inter- and intra-connections among the considered application groups. Based on these connections, new application groups have been proposed for applications that share common characterization parameters, along with a holistic overview of WSN application taxonomy and the discussion of the three generations of WSNs toward communication between things and the Internet of Things , as well as future trends for the development of WSN applications. Moreover, detailed parameters from different projects and authors in the field of WSNs are joined together for comparison purposes.
- Enhanced two-phase contention window MAC protocol for wireless sensor networks applicationsPublication . Borges, Luís Miguel Moreira; Velez, Fernando José da Silva; Lebres, António Sérgio PortelaNowadays, the user of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) is becoming more and more demanding in terms of choice and diversity of applications. As a consequence, as the diversity of applications continues to grow there is a need to identify and classify the set of detailed characterization parameters that facilitates to sketch up a taxonomy for WSN applications. The proposed taxonomy identi es the services offered by each application makes a tool available to better understand the services and requirements of each application, along with a holistic overview of the WSN proposed application taxonomy. The research also involved the actual development of WSN applications within different research projects, namely in the elds of healthcare (Smart Clothing), civil engineering structure monitoring (INSYSM) and precision agriculture. Different medium access control mechanisms employ different collision avoidance schemes to cope with packet collision and retransmission, trading-off complexity, energy inef ciency and control of packet overhead. In particular, this PhD thesis addresses the study the packet collision probability for a MAC protocol that employs a collision avoidance mechanism with two contention window and consequent proposal of a model for the collision probability. Simulation results validate the model for saturated traf c. For unsaturated traf c and with a small number of nodes, the accuracy of the model is limited by numerical rounding. It is shown that, by using our analytical model, we have been able to obtain performance metrics such as network throughput and average service time for the successful transmissions. In addition, the Enhanced Reliability Decision Algorithm in the physical layer has been proposed. The frame capture effect (FC) feature has been implemented in the IEEE 802.15.4 compliant physical layer of the MiXiM framework. The proposed decision algorithm utilizes the Signal to Noise-plus-Interference ratio (SNIR) and the size of the packet to guarantee the delivery with certain reliability to the MAC layer, of a packet received at the PHY layer. A gain of more than 10 % has been achieved in the delivery ratio. Promising results have also been obtained for the SCP-MAC protocol with the FC effect enabled, for different values of reliability. As one of the main contributions of this thesis, an innovative ef cient multi-channel MAC protocol, based on SCP-MAC, was proposed, the so-called Multi-Channel Scheduled Channel Polling (MC-SCP-MAC) protocol. The in uential range concept, denial channel list (which considers the degradation metric of each slot channel), extra resolution phase algorithm and frame capture effect have been explored to achieve the maximum performance in terms of delivery ratio and energy consumption. It has been shown MC-SCP-MAC outperforms SCP-MAC and MC-LMAC in denser scenarios, with improved throughput fairness. Considering the in uential range concept reduces the redundancy level in the network facilitating to reduce the energy consumption whilst decreasing the latency. The conclusions from this research reveal the importance of an appropriate design for the MAC protocol for the desired WSN application. Depending on the objective or mission of the WSN application, different protocols are required. Therefore, the overall performance of a WSN application certainly depends on the appropriate development and application of the appropriate communication protocols (e.g., MAC, network layer).
- Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks Services and Applications: Characterisation and Classification TaxonomiesPublication . Borges, Luís M.; Velez, Fernando José; Lebres, António S.Nowadays Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) users are becoming more exigent when choosing services for a certain WSN application. This paper describes the characteristics of WSN services and applications, splitting them into six main characteristics and each main characteristic is identified by specific parameters that identify the main characteristic. For each parameter a description is made in order to better understand how services are described and differentiate from each other and examples are given, referring the importance of these parameters in the services that are offered to the user. The gathering of all these parameters allowed us to sketch up taxonomy for the services in WSN regarding the applications, allowing the user to choose the application he/she wants based in these categories whilst identifying the services offered by the application. Future work will aim the detailed characterization of services offered to the main areas of WSNs considering these parameters and also on others parameters yet to be included.
- Impact of using CSS PHY and RTS/CTS Combined with Frame Concatenation in the IEEE 802.15.4 Non-beacon Enabled Mode PerformancePublication . Barroca, Norberto; Borges, Luís M.; Chatzimisios, Periklis; Velez, Fernando J.This paper studies the performance improvement of the IEEE 802.15.4 non-beacon-enabled mode originated by the inclusion of the Request-To-Send/Clear-To-Send (RTS/CTS) handshake mechanism resulting in frame concatenation. Under IEEE 802.15.4 employing RTS/CTS, the backoff procedure is not repeated for each data frame sent but only for each RTS/CTS set. The maximum throughput and minimum delay performance are mathematically derived for both the Chirp Spread Spectrum and Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum Physical layers for the 2.4 GHz band. Results show that the utilization of RTS/CTS significantly enhances the performance of IEEE 802.15.4 applied to healthcare in terms of bandwidth efficiency.
- Wireless Flex Sensor Belt Networks for Foetal Movement Monitoring in Low Risk PregnanciesPublication . Borges, Luís M.; Barroca, Norberto; Zamith, Fernando; Lebres, António SérgioIn this work two flex sensor belts were produced to count the foetal movements in the last four weeks of pregnancy. While one is a standalone solution the other is a wireless flex sensor belt network one. A description of the type of sensors is followed by the discussion of the different types of acquisition and data treatment methodologies. The application to display the deformation angles is presented as well. The wireless sensor network solution is based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, and the hierarchical wireless network solutions include a Wi-Fi layer. Preliminary results highlight the need for accounting for mother respiration movements and actual experiences with pregnant woman will facilitate tuning the threshold-trigger, to improve the detection performance.
- Overview of Progress in Smart-Clothing for Health Monitoring and Sport ApplicationsPublication . Borges, Luís M.; Rente, Andreia; Velez, Fernando José; Salvado, Luísa R.; Lebres, António S.Smart-Clothing is a project that combines research in textiles materials and wireless sensor and actuator networks in the context of human body monitoring with statistical methods for the data analysis and treatment. This project aims mainly to aid in the monitoring of the foetal movement in the last four weeks of pregnancy. Besides the integration of sensors in the garment there will be needed a hierarchical communication system that allows the delivery of the data collected from the garment that the pregnant is wearing to the doctor. The pregnant can be either at home or in the hospital. In the first stage of the project tests are being made using several types of sensors integrated in a belt in order to choose the one that is more reliable for the detection of foetal movement. Another sensing task is the manufacture of the electrodes for the electrocardiogram (ECG) system. At this point, the electrodes for the ECG are already made and working. The testing of the sensor for the detection of foetal movement is still being done.
- Radio‐frequency energy harvesting for wearable sensorsPublication . Borges, Luís M.; Chávez‐Santiago, Raul; Barroca, Norberto; Velez, Fernando José; Balasingham, IlangkoThe use of wearable biomedical sensors for the continuous monitoring of physiological signals will facilitate the involvement of the patients in the prevention and management of chronic diseases. The fabrication of small biomedical sensors transmitting physiological data wirelessly is possible as a result of the tremendous advances in ultra-low power electronics and radio communications. However, the widespread adoption of these devices depends very much on their ability to operate for long periods of time without the need to frequently change, recharge or even use batteries. In this context, energy harvesting (EH) is the disruptive technology that can pave the road towards the massive utilisation of wireless wearable sensors for patient self-monitoring and daily healthcare. Radio-frequency (RF) transmissions from commercial telecommunication networks represent reliable ambient energy that can be harvested as they are ubiquitous in urban and suburban areas. The state-of-the-art in RF EH for wearable biomedical sensors specifically targeting the global system of mobile 900/1800 cellular and 700 MHz digital terrestrial television networks as ambient RF energy sources are showcased. Furthermore, guidelines for the choice of the number of stages for the RF energy harvester are presented, depending on the requirements from the embedded system to power supply, which is useful for other researchers that work in the same area. The present authors' recent advances towards the development of an efficient RF energy harvester and storing system are presented and thoroughly discussed too.
- Wearable Sensors for Foetal Movement Monitoring in Low Risk PregnanciesPublication . Borges, Luís M.; Araújo, Pedro; Lebres, António S.; Rente, Andreia; Salvado, Rita; Velez, Fernando J.; Martinez-de-Oliveira, J.; Barroca, Norberto; Ferro, João MiguelIn low risk pregnancies, the continuous monitoring of the foetal health is based on traditional protocols for counting the foetal movements felt by the mother. Although the maternal perception is a relevant characteristic for the evaluation of the foetal health, this kind of monitoring is hard to accomplish and being subjective can induce into errors due to mother’s anxiety and lack of concentration. Furthermore, the majority of foetal fatalities occur during the last weeks of low risk pregnancies. Therefore, it is important to obtain a universal electronic obstetric tracing, allowing for the identification of sudden changes in the foetus health, by continuously monitoring the foetus movements. The Smart-Clothing project aim has been the development of easy-to-wear belts with a telemedicine system for this purpose. One of the tried solutions is the Flex sensor belt system, which guarantees real-time and continuous foetal monitoring while creating effective interfaces for querying sensor data and store all the medical record (which can later be accessed by health professionals). Another developed belt has piezoelectric sensors incorporated onto it. The piezoelectric sensor belt has shown a high capacity to detect foetal movements, isolating them from external interferences.
- Frame Capture and Reliability Based Decider Implementation in the MiXiM IEEE 802.15.4 FrameworkPublication . Borges, Luís M.; Velez, Fernando J.; Barroca, Norberto; Lebres, AntónioThe task of properly modelling the physical (PHY) layer constitutes the most challenging endeavor in wireless networks simulation. Unfortunately, today, the majority of the wireless sensor network (WSN) simulators consider a simple model for the PHY frame reception, which does not account for emerging research on the frame capture (FC) effect. In this paper, we present enhancements for the PHY layer model for the IEEE 802.15.4 standard employed in the MiXiM framework, to account for the FC effect within WSN-based simulations. These improvements are as follows: i) proposal of a formulation for the PHY layer packet reception based on a reliability concept, identified as the Enhanced Reliability Decision Algorithm, which guarantees the delivery of a packet received by the PHY layer to the medium access control (MAC) layer, with a certain value for the reliability (0.9 and 0.99); ii) different frame overlapping scenarios, and iii) different values for the thresholds to decide frame recovery. The work includes the description, implementation and performance evaluation of the proposed decision algorithm, jointly with the FC effect, in the MiXiM framework simulator, for basic MAC and scheduled channel polling (SCP) MAC protocols. Based on the simulation results, the proposed approach can significantly improve simulation accuracy and provide a PHY decision algorithm that guarantees, with a certain reliability, the delivery of frames to the MAC layer.
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