Abstract
Utilizing wireless sensor network (WSN) to monitor the marine environment is one of the major techniques in oceanographic monitoring, and how to increase the limited communication distance between the buoys in WSN has become a hot research issue. In this paper, a new technique called precise-orientation-beamforming (POB) which uses the beamforming algorithm to increase the communication distance between buoys is presented. As was widely applied in the radar and sonar, the beamforming method was not used to extend the communication distance between buoys so far. The POB method overcomes the unstable position of buoys caused by waves by implementing the orientation filter. The whole process includes two steps: First, the real-time attitude of the antenna array is calculated by the orientation filter. With the known relative direction of the destination node to the antenna array, the second step is to control phased array antenna beamforming parameters, directing the beam at the destination node. The POB scheme has been simulated under the condition of regular waves. The results reveal that POB provides significant power gains and improves the distance between two communicating nodes effectively.
Highlights
The wireless communications for oceanographic monitoring typically include satellite communications [1], commercial cellular network access, for example, 3G [2], and approaches designed for wireless sensor networks (WSNs), for example, ZigBee [2, 3]
Because of the limited communication distance, there need to be a large number of relay buoys deployed in the WSNs, which consist of the major part of the fundamental cost
A novel beamforming scheme between buoys has been demonstrated in this paper
Summary
The wireless communications for oceanographic monitoring typically include satellite communications [1], commercial cellular network access, for example, 3G [2], and approaches designed for wireless sensor networks (WSNs), for example, ZigBee [2, 3]. The basic idea of beamforming is to direct the majority of signal energy transmitted from the transmit antenna array in a chosen angular direction and effectively extend the communication distance [4] between nodes. This paper presents a precise-orientation-beamforming (POB) scheme between buoys without channel estimation and feedback from receiver. The real-time attitude of the transmit antenna array, which is fixed on the buoy, is calculated using the orientation filter. After calculating the real-time posture of the antenna, the relative direction of the target node to the transmit antenna array is gained. A corresponding algorithm [4, 8, 9] is selected to control beamforming parameters of phased array antennas, directing the beam at the target node.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
