On the Impact of Local Processing for MotorMonitoring Systems in Industrial Environments Using Wireless Sensor Networks

摘要

This paper presents a theoretical study for verifyingthe impact of using smart nodes in motor monitoring systemsin industrial environments employing Wireless Sensor Networks(WSNs). Structured cabling and sensor deployment are usuallymore expensive than the cost of the sensors themselves. Besidesthe high cost, the wired approach offers little flexibility, makingthe network deployment and maintenance a complex process. Inthis context, wireless networks present a number of advantagescompared to wired networks as, for example, the ease and speedof deployment and maintenance and the associated low cost. However, WSNs have several limitations, such as the low bandwidthand unreliability, especially in harsh environments (e.g.,industrial plants). This paper presents a theoretical study on theperformance of WSNs for motor monitoring applications in industrialenvironments, taking into account WSNs’ characteristics(i.e., unreliability and communication and processing latency). The results obtained through mathematical models were analyzedtogether with experimental results, and it was demonstrated thatemploying intelligent nodes with local processing capabilitiesis essential for the applications under consideration, becauseit reduces the amount of data transmitted over the networkallowing monitoring even in scenarios with high interference rate,paying off the extra latency resulting from local processing.