Implementation of Wireless Sensor Communication in Remote Handling Robotic Applications

Abstract

Sensor networks and robots are both quickly evolving fields, the union of two fields seems inherently symbiotic. Collecting data from stationary sensors can be time consuming task and thus can be automated by adding wireless communication capabilities to the sensors. However if the sensing locations are far apart, additional relay nodes may be needed to ensure the connectivity of the network. Thus in PART-I of the project, Zigbee wireless communication technology and the process of establishing Zigbee network using relay nodes are introduced, making it most convenient for WSN. Wireless sensor networks is particularly useful for areas which are difficult to hardwire , where there is no easy access to a tethered power source and where human intervention is not possible. This proposed project takes advantage of wireless sensor networks in remote handling environment which can send signals over far distances by using a mesh topology, transfers the data wirelessly and also consumes low power. Also a testbed is created for wireless sensor network using custom build nodes which can simultaneously control and monitor robot for positional accuracy and temperature conditions. A Graphical user interface can be run on remote terminal which can monitor Temperature readings and position of Robot dynamically and save those readings in database. Similarly in PART-II of the project Micaz motes are used for one dimensional tracking of mobile robot using RSSI based approximation.