Infrared Wireless Sensor Network Development for the Ariane Launcher

Summary

The Ariane Launcher is the heavy‐lift launch vehicle of the Ariane rocket family. The focus of this chapter is infrared wireless sensor network development for the vehicle equipment bay (VEB) on Ariane launchers. The development of the infrared transceiver application‐specific integrated circuit (ASIC) requires measurement data for the upper‐stage material, which might influence the communication profile. This data helps the design process in relation to determining the ASIC's transmission power and modulation methods. Next, the chapter discusses the time‐synchronization and time‐stamping methods and they take advantage of visible light communication (VLC). This is especially useful if we want to send time information to all sensors at the same time. The chapter also explores commercial sensors for possible use as the sensor nodes. The focus of the sensor node is to measure environmental parameters inside the VEB such as: air pressure /temperature; three‐axis acceleration; infrared/visible light intensity; and air humidity.