Thesis: Smart Energy Harvesting strategies for Wireless Sensor Networks
Posted on by b105

Post-web2

 

Author: Elena Real López

Advisor: Alvaro Araujo Pinto

In recent years we have attended to the development of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) and their inclusion in many areas of our daily life. Since nodes are wireless to ensure the ubiquity of the network and in many cases they are also mobile, it is essential to power them with batteries. Moreover, these batteries must be small to fit the size of the device. What’s more, it is customary that the location of the node is inaccessible, so changing batteries is considerably complicated.

This, coupled with the requirements specified above, makes it almost essential to use energy harvesting techniques for ensuring the device power.

The goal of this thesis is the study and the development of various smart energy harvesting techniques to improve the energy supply of wireless devices. In addition, this smart energy harvesting should adapt to the specific needs of the network and to the environment in which it is placed, with the aim to achieve an optimal behavior and a higher benefit.

Thesis: Strategies to maximize the lifetime of wireless sensor networks with a cross-layer approach
Posted on by albarc

lifetimeLogo

Author: Alba Rozas Cid

Advisor: Álvaro Araujo Pinto

Synopsis: Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are one of the fastest growing sectors in the field of wireless and mobile communications. A WSN consists of spatially distributed autonomous sensor nodes deployed to monitor physical or environmental conditions, over a certain area. Each sensor node has a radio system and a small processor, and it is powered from a limited energy source, generally a small battery. Given this limited energy source, reducing consumption is a crucial matter in WSNs. An important term in this field of research is the “network lifetime”. It is roughly defined as the period in which the network is operational. As can be seen, the notion of operation is not objective, and it strongly depends on the application for which the network is intended. However, most definitions of the term fail to take the application into account.

Not only is it interesting to increase the network lifetime, but there are also certain applications in which it would be very desirable for the user to have control in the process of degradation that comes at the end of it. This leads us to the introduction of a new paradigm: the controlled degradation of the network.

In this thesis we want to link the definition of the network lifetime to the specific application of each WSN. We believe this, along with having control in the eventual degradation, can lead to better algorithms and optimizations focusing both on energy consumption and quality of service. Also, given this group’s experience with Cognitive Wireless Sensor Networks (CWSNs), we would like to use the cognitive paradigm as much as possible. We believe that it can lead to promising results and it would enable a cross-layer approach, mainly through spectrum sensing and cooperation between nodes.

PFC: Implementation of an architecture for the development of cognitive features in smartphones
Posted on by b105

android cognitive radio

The objective of this project is the development of a cognitive module in smartphones. This module will implement cognitive features that becomes this terminals in nodes of a Cognitive Wireles Sensor Network. The smartphones are one of the best terminals in order to implement cognitive tasks such as spectrum sensing, collaboration and learning.

Related Technologies

  • Cognitive Radio
  • Wireless Sensor Networks
  • Linux
  • Java (Android)

Task

  • State of the art study in Android terminals
  • Control over wireless interfaces
  • Cognitive architecture definition
  • Implementation of the modules and functionality
  • Tests and results

Requirements

  • Dedication: 4 hours/day.

Tutor

Javier Blesa <jblesa@die.upm.es>

Estate

In progress

Thesis: Cognitive based strategies for security in Wireless Sensor Networks
Posted on by b105

cognitive radio security

 

Author: Javier Blesa Martínez

Advisor: Alvaro Araujo Pinto

Synopsis: ONE of the fastest growing sectors in recent years has undoubtedly been that of WSNs. WSNs are increasingly being introduced into our daily lives. Potential fields of applications can be found, ranging from the military to home control commercially or industrially, to name a few. The increasing demand for wireless communication presents a challenge to make efficient use of the spectrum. To address this challenge, Cognitive Radio (CR) has emerged as the key technology. The nature of large, dynamic, adaptive, Cognitive Wireless Sensor Networks presents significant challenges in designing security schemes. A cognitive wireless sensor network is a special network that has many constraints and many different features compared to traditional WSNs. While security challenges have been widely tackled in traditional networks, it is a novel area in Cognitive Wireless Sensor Networks. The goal of this thesis is to improve the security in CWSN taking advantage of the new cogntive feature such as spectrum sensing, learning and collaboration.

Related publications: