Architectural Design of a Sensory-Node-Controller for Sensor Network

Increasing complexity of manufacturing systems has led to a wide-spread application of large-scale sensor networks. Effective and efficient operation of the sensor network requires the introduction of a new platform that enables adaptive, event-driven information gathering based on the condition of machines. To realize such a platform, this paper presents several fundamental aspects regarding the architectural design of a Sensory-Node Controller (SNOC), which is the key element in a large-scale sensor network that controls the operation of individual physical sensors and coordinates the communication among various sensing clusters. The focus of the study is on an energy-efficient SNOC design that enables a dynamically adjustable power supply and data acquisition procedure to reduce the overall energy requirement of the sensor network, for sustainable, long-term operations. Both hardware and software considerations for the parametric SNOC design are described, and analytical formulations presented. Simulation of energy consumption based on a sensor cluster consisting of 40 SNOCs shows 57% of energy saving in comparison with the conventional sensing technique. The study has provided input to the design optimization and experimental realization of a SNOC-based sensor network for machine system monitoring.