Distributed Data Acquisition: Enhancing Sensor Networks with CAN Over Powerline (DC-BUS) for Efficient and Robust System Integration of Launch Vehicles

In traditional launch vehicle systems, a centralized data acquisition approach is followed, where various sensors are directly connected to a data acquisition system (DAQ) which supplies the excitation signal to the sensor and also does the job of filtering, signal conditioning, digitizing and packetization of the sensor signal which is then sent to Telemetry Package which in turn transmits this information to the ground stations via RF Signals. As the sensors and signal processing system are not collocated, there is a large amount of cabling from the sensor to the DAQ with power and signal causing weight penalty and Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) related issues. A failure of DAQ results in disruption of the entire sensor network. A smart sensor approach is reported in literature, in which the team developed a smart sensor integrated with an ADC and Microcontroller which transmits the data over an RS-485 Bus. Though this approach solves some of the aforesaid problems but needs additional powerlines distribution and suffers from undefined protocol. This paper proposes the use of Controller Area Network (CAN) Over Powerline (DC-BUS) bus for supplying power and acquiring data from the sensors and distributing the data acquisition resulting in a more reliable and robust sensor network for Launch Vehicles.