Sensor computation and communication for remote structural monitoring

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks offer a promising way to monitor the structural health of national infrastructure such as bridges. This has become critical because of recent catastrophes that have demonstrated the need for improved assessment and monitoring of these structures. This work examines potential computational constraints that are involved with implementing a real-time system for structural health monitoring. The target system should provide an adequate programming platform that can be used for built-in data security and on-chip data processing. It should also utilize existing technology in a way that will provide a thorough and cost-effective means of monitoring bridges in a real-time environment. The performance of the sensor is calculated from a comparative analysis of the various execution times at multiple data sampling frequencies. This constrains the processing time available to perform the computationally intensive operations required for real-time data monitoring. Results show that besides the memory limitations, the sensor can accommodate a real-time system that efficiently samples data within a relevant range.