Intelligent emergency service system based on wireless sensor and actuator networks

An intelligent emergency service（ IES） system is designed for indoor environments based on a wireless sensor and actuator network（ WSAN） composed of a gateway, sensor nodes, and a multi-robot system（ MRS）. If the MRS receives accident alarm information, the group of robots will navigate to the accident sites and provide corresponding emergency services.According to the characteristics of the MRS, a distributed consensus formation protocol is designed, which can assure that the multiple robots arrive at the accident site in a specified formation. The prototype emergency service system was designed and implemented, and some relevant simulations and experiments were carried out. The results showthat the MRS can successfully provide emergency lighting and failure node replacement services when accidents happen. The effectiveness of the algorithm and the feasibility of the system are verified.

Improved control of distributed parameter systems using wireless sensor and actuator networks:An observer-based method

In this paper,the control problem of distributed parameter systems is investigated by using wireless sensor and actuator networks with the observer-based method.Firstly,a centralized observer which makes use of the measurement information provided by the fixed sensors is designed to estimate the distributed parameter systems.The mobile agents,each of which is affixed with a controller and an actuator,can provide the observer-based control for the target systems.By using Lyapunov stability arguments,the stability for the estimation error system and distributed parameter control system is proved,meanwhile a guidance scheme for each mobile actuator is provided to improve the control performance.A numerical example is finally used to demonstrate the effectiveness and the advantages of the proposed approaches.

Node coordination mechanism based on distributed estimation and control in wireless sensor and actuator networks

Wireless sensor and actuator networks （WSANs） have a wide range of applications. To perform effective sensing and acting tasks, multiple coordination mechanisms among the nodes are required. As attempt in this direction, this paper describes collaborative estimation and control algorithms design for WSANs. First, a sensor-actuator coordination model is proposed based on distributed Kalman filter in federated configuration. This method provides the capability of fault tolerance and multi-source information fusion. On this basis, an actuator-actuator coordination model based on even-driven task allocation is introduced. Actuators utilize fused sensory information to adjust their action that incur the minimum energy cost to the system subject to the constraints that user＇s preferences regarding the states of the system are approximately satisfied. Finally, according to system requirements, a distributed algorithm is proposed to solve the task allocation problem. Simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed methods.

Active structures integrated with wireless sensor and actuator networks： a bio-inspired control framework

One of the main problems in controlling the shape of active structures （AS） is to determine the actuations that drive the structure from the current state to the target state. Model-based methods such as stochastic search require a known type of load and relatively long computational time, which limits the practical use of AS in civil engineering. Moreover, additive errors may be produced because of the discrepancy between analytic models and real structures. To overcome these limitations, this paper presents a compound system called WAS, which combines AS with a wireless sensor and actuator network （WSAN）. A bio-inspired control framework imitating the activity of the nervous systems of animals is proposed for WAS. A typical example is tested for verification. In the example, a triangular tensegrity prism that aims to maintain its original height is integrated with a WSAN that consists of a central controller, three actuators, and three sensors. The result demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed concept and control framework in cases of unknown loads that include different types, distributions, magnitudes, and directions. The proposed control framework can also act as a supplementary means to improve the efficiency and accuracy of control frameworks based on a common stochastic search.

Study on optimal state estimation strategy with dual distributed controllers based on Kalman filtering

Considering dual distributed controllers, a design of optimal state estimation strategy is studied for the wireless sensor and actuator network(WSAN). In particular, the optimal linear quadratic(LQ) control strategy with estimated plant state is formulated as a non-cooperative game with network-induced delays. Then, using the Kalman filter approach, an optimal estimation of the plant state is obtained based on the information fusion of the distributed controllers. Finally, an optimal state estimation strategy is derived as a linear function of the current estimated plant state and the last control strategy of multiple controllers. The effectiveness of the proposed closed-loop control strategy is verified by the simulation experiments.