A seismic sensor is a system that measures the seismic activity on the given territory and comprises 3 modules, namely AWP (automated working station), BS (base station), and a sensor. System information is communicated using a mesh network.
Industry:
IoT
All
TRL:
1 → 7
Project duration:
16 months
The POC of the system was put together using cables that connect the sensors. These cables made it difficult to install the system.
Thus, we faced a contradiction. On the one hand, the cables had to be abandoned since the system had to cover a space of up to 3 square kilometers, which made installing it extremely challenging. However, given that the system produces up to 2 GB of data each day, the cables were perfect for gathering data from the sensors. The operator must receive this information without any losses.
We were unable to use off-the-shelf solutions for the control board that was required to gather and store topographical data as well as interact with the operator because of the small internal enclosure area, which was just 25 mm.
In order to transmit the data wirelessly over the distance required by the customer, we decided to use radio transmission (mesh network) with standard implementation. During the development of the systems and testing, the data from the sensors jumped between columns which caused errors in the “ geographical area reports”. As a result, we decided to alter the standard protocols of data transmission via mesh and create custom code that allows to transmit data from sensors within one column, prohibiting them from commingling with adjacent columns.
The sensors generate roughly 2 GB of data per day. Since it’s not possible to transmit data through a radio link quickly, mesh network data transfer rate is only 2.2 Kb/s. Our engineers incorporated a Wi-Fi module so that data from the sensors could be immediately downloaded. When the sensors are within Wi-Fi range, this module enables the user to manually connect to them and download data at a rate of 6.5 Mbps. The data is written to the MMC embedded in the board.
Our engineers created the board over the course of 2 iterations: first, they put together the electronics required to run the system, and then, after the customer provided 3D models of the sensor enclosure, the board was split into two pieces and put together so that all of its components could fit inside a 25 mm-diameter cylindrical enclosure.
The customer received a set of design documentation for mass production of the sensor’s PCB and 15 board prototypes. We offered technical support for the development of 250 more sensors. To enable data transmission between the sensors, we created firmware based on mesh networks.
Network range between nodes
Operating hours of the sensors between
To transmit data within the system
