What is a Wireless Sensor Network?
Traditionally, in order to monitor the structural health of bridges, engineers have used either a series of highly inefficient strain sensors or a visual inspection method. Due to the importance of structural health monitoring for public safety, engineers have been attempting to make this process more automated and accurate. Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are automated systems that more accurately assess damages in a proactive manner. A WSN system will connect sensor nodes along a structure, detect characteristics of a bridge, and communicate those findings through a wireless network. A WSN system for monitoring the health of bridges will help ensure a longer lifespan of these structures and help prevent collapsing disasters.
What is NB-IOT?
Project Summary
The goal of this project is to create a wireless sensor network (WSN) using narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) communication to create an automated system that more accurately assesses damages to a bridge in a proactive manner. Various different types of sensors will be utilized, including accelerometers and temperature sensors, to measure the health of the bridge. I2C/Spi communication protocols will be used for communication between any sensors being used and the microcontroller. The project will utilize NB-IoT to communicate between the embedded device and the cloud database that will store all the bridge’s measurements. Finally, a web application will be developed in order to provide an interface from the system to the user.
