Implementation and Analysis of a Wireless Sensor Network-Based Pet Location Monitoring System for Domestic Scenarios.

Erik Aguirre,José Astrain,Leyre Azpilicueta,Jesús Villadangos,Peio Lopez-Iturri,Daniel Santesteban,Francisco Falcone

doi:10.3390/s16091384

Erik Aguirre, José Astrain + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/s16091384

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Abstract

The flexibility of new age wireless networks and the variety of sensors to measure a high number of variables, lead to new scenarios where anything can be monitored by small electronic devices, thereby implementing Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). Thanks to ZigBee, RFID or WiFi networks the precise location of humans or animals as well as some biological parameters can be known in real-time. However, since wireless sensors must be attached to biological tissues and they are highly dispersive, propagation of electromagnetic waves must be studied to deploy an efficient and well-working network. The main goal of this work is to study the influence of wireless channel limitations in the operation of a specific pet monitoring system, validated at physical channel as well as at functional level. In this sense, radio wave propagation produced by ZigBee devices operating at the ISM 2.4 GHz band is studied through an in-house developed 3D Ray Launching simulation tool, in order to analyze coverage/capacity relations for the optimal system selection as well as deployment strategy in terms of number of transceivers and location. Furthermore, a simplified dog model is developed for simulation code, considering not only its morphology but also its dielectric properties. Relevant wireless channel information such as power distribution, power delay profile and delay spread graphs are obtained providing an extensive wireless channel analysis. A functional dog monitoring system is presented, operating over the implemented ZigBee network and providing real time information to Android based devices. The proposed system can be scaled in order to consider different types of domestic pets as well as new user based functionalities.

Highlights

Nowadays, monitoring of objects as well as of living beings can be carried out thanks to a wide variety of transceivers working together with increasingly compact devices and the use of different wireless communication standards
The main goal is the analysis of the influence of wireless propagation limitations in the implementation of a specific pet monitoring system, which has been implemented and tested
In this work a 3D Ray Launching simulation technique is proposed for the proper deployment of the network and to calibrate application, since the power level in the different parts of the home for the three antennas must be registered in the application database

Summary

Introduction

Nowadays, monitoring of objects as well as of living beings can be carried out thanks to a wide variety of transceivers working together with increasingly compact devices and the use of different wireless communication standards. These systems fall within the scope of the Internet of Things (IoT), where devices are connected to the internet and the information is sent without the interaction of human beings. In this sense, a high variety of person-oriented systems are being developed within the framework of e-health systems and most of these technologies are being extrapolated to farming and pet wellness applications. For farm animals or pets some identification systems have been developed and deployed, these systems are not based on wireless networks and owners must extract the information indirectly

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