Principles and Applications of Ubiquitous Sensing [Hardcover]

Applications which use wireless sensors are increasing in number. The emergence of wireless sensor networks has also motivated the integration of a large number of small and lightweight nodes which integrate sensors, processors, and wireless transceivers. ?Existing books on wireless sensor networks mainly focus on protocols and networks and pay little attention to the sensors themselves which the author believes is the main focus.? Without adequate knowledge of sensors as well as how they can be designed, realized and used, books on wireless sensor networks become too theoretical and irrelevant. The purpose of this book is to intimately acquaint readers with the technique of sensing (resistive, capacitive, inductive, magnetic, inertial, etc.) and existing sensor technologies. It also discusses how the sensors are used in a wide application domain and how new sensors can be designed and used in a novel way.

Preface xiii

About the Companion Website xv

List of Abbreviations xvii

1 Introduction 1

1.1 System Overview 2

1.1.1 Sensing System 2

1.1.2 Conditioning System 3

1.1.3 Analogue-to-digital Signal Conversion 3

1.1.4 Processor 4

1.2 Example: AWireless Electrocardiogram 4

1.3 Organisation of the Book 7

2 Applications 9

2.1 Civil Infrastructure Monitoring 9

2.1.1 Bridges and Buildings 10

2.1.2 Water Pipelines 17

2.2 Medical Diagnosis and Monitoring 21

2.2.1 Parkinsons Disease 21

2.2.2 Alzheimers Disease 25

2.2.3 Sleep Apnea and Medical Journalling 26

2.2.4 Asthma 28

2.2.5 Gastroparesis 31

2.3 Water-quality Monitol“&