Analysis of the Effect of Human Presence on a Wireless Sensor Network

Ben Graham, Christos Tachtatzis, Fabio Di Franco, Marek Bykowski, David C. Tracey, Nick F. Timmons and Jim Morrison
Additional contact information
Ben Graham: Letterkenny Institute of Technology, Ireland
Christos Tachtatzis: Letterkenny Institute of Technology, Ireland
Fabio Di Franco: Letterkenny Institute of Technology, Ireland
Marek Bykowski: Letterkenny Institute of Technology, Ireland
David C. Tracey: Letterkenny Institute of Technology, Ireland
Nick F. Timmons: Letterkenny Institute of Technology, Ireland
Jim Morrison: Letterkenny Institute of Technology, Ireland

International Journal of Ambient Computing and Intelligence (IJACI), 2011, vol. 3, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are gaining an increasing industry wide adoption. However, there remain major challenges such as network dimensioning and node placement especially in Built Environment Networks (BENs). Decisions on the node placement, orientation, and the number of nodes to cover the area of interest are usually ad-hoc. Ray tracing tools are traditionally employed to predict RF signal propagation; however, such tools are primarily intended for outdoor environments. RF signal propagation varies greatly indoors due to building materials and infrastructure, obstacles, node placement, antenna orientation and human presence. Because of the complexity of signal prediction, these factors are usually ignored or given little weight when such networks are analyzed. The paper’s results show the effects of the building size and layout, building materials, human presence and mobility on the signal propagation of a BEN. Additionally, they show that antenna radiation pattern is a key factor in the RF propagation performance, and appropriate device orientation and placement can improve the network reliability. Further, the RSS facility in RF transceivers can be exploited to detect the presence and motion of humans in the environment.

Date: 2011
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://services.igi-global.com/resolvedoi/resolve. ... 4018/jaci.2011010101 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:igg:jaci00:v:3:y:2011:i:1:p:1-13

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Ambient Computing and Intelligence (IJACI) is currently edited by Nilanjan Dey

More articles in International Journal of Ambient Computing and Intelligence (IJACI) from IGI Global
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Journal Editor ().