How Wireless Meshing Could Save Energy

An anonymous reader writes "EE Times reports that the future of industrial automation lies in wireless mesh sensor networks. From the article: 'It is the holy grail of the factory floor: hundreds of sensors wirelessly connected, monitoring motors for problems and drastically reducing energy consumption -- all with the precision and rhythm of a philharmonic orchestra.' (Other articles here(1), here(2), and here(3).)"

Comments

Re:I, for one...[OT]

[tntguy]

this would make my job a whole lot easier

You realize, of course, that just means they'd give you more work to make up for what they took away. Right?

tinfoil mode

[Anonymous Coward]

Worded with a different spin, the tagline could sound all too familiar:

An anonymous reader writes "EE Times reports that the future of police monitoring lies in wireless mesh sensor networks. From the article: 'It is the holy grail of law enforcement: hundreds of sensors wirelessly connected, monitoring citizens for problems and drastically reducing energy consumption -- all with the precision and rhythm of a philharmonic orchestra.'

OK, maybe not a philharmonic orchestra -- a bean burrito perhaps.

Re:What about SAR?

[bobetov]

As the devices "run for years off a single battery", seems unlikely to pose much of a threat, even in aggregate.

Re:I, for one...[OT]

[ChaosWing]

Not necessarily. If something were to go wrong with the internals of a machine, odds are better that an electronic sensor would detect the problem before the operator would...a problem detected before serious damage occurs is a lot easier to deal with (and would require less work) than one detected when it causes a component (or an entire machine) to fail.

Re:I, for one...

[belial]

What happens when your packets don't get there because the mesh network doesn't magically heal itself? Or if it just loses the data? Does that 8MW generator explode?

Mesh networks have been around for years, but have not reached the masses because they just aren't ready. They're fine for experimental uses, and maybe even for community networks, but as industrial sensors? No thanks.

Use RS422.

Interference?

[Godeke]

Having installed wired and wireless networking on manufacturing floors I can tell you that before this dream of magic wireless connectivity comes true, these machines will need vastly better RF shielding. We had a bugger of a time getting wireless to work and even wired networks would act up if you were not careful where you placed the wires. (One company ran fiber optic to the floor machines because the interference issue couldn't be resolved satisfactorily: not a cheap way to go).

So how long will it take to get those machines updated? Well, one of my first jobs out of the U was making a tape punch work on a PC so they could edit programs and load them from paper tape. That was in 1990. I'm guessing that these will be a great concept for someone building a factory floor from scratch, but retrofitting is going to be a big flop.

Re:Interference?

[calidoscope]

I'd agree with you if the wireless mesh was being used for process control.

In this case, the wireless mesh is being used for monitoring the health of the motor not for active process feedback.

Car analogy: When driving a car, your primary feedback is what you see out the windows and that's what your attention is focused on 99% of the time. Every now and then, you take a look at the gauges to make sure the engine is running properly (which is what the info on the mesh provides). If the gauges show something amiss, you may have anywhere from a few seconds (pegged coolant temp or no oil pressure) to several hours (or longer) to deal with the problem.

Zensys for the home.

[JVert]

For those interested in this kind of wireless mesh for the home check out zensys. I dont have any links or handy info, I just know they work in the same way and are intended for home automation. Lightswitches, thermostats etc.

Just more of the same "in the box thinking"

[Politicus]

By reducing the cost of owning a motor-monitoring system, the DOE hopes to accelerate adoption of the technology and enable nationwide energy savings. The effort is part of its $61 million Industries of the Future initiative to improve energy efficiency throughout strategic U.S. industries.

This is just another example of our tax money subsidizing large industry. If the US is really a market economy, then allow the market to correct for inefficient use of energy by simply increasing the cost of energy. Hey, this could even generate federal revenue! What a novel idea. Accomplish the same thing while actually lowering personal income taxes.

Besides, the focus is understandably across the board, but some industries use vastly more energy than others. Somehow this seems like almost trivial energy use compared to say aluminum processing.

Next time someone throws out "free market" when talking about jobs, it would be prudent to drag this example out.

How does this save energy?

[serutan]

The main article and here(1) don't say. All the sensor network would do is sense vibration, temperature, etc. But no explanation of how this would help save energy. Here(2) was farked, I mean slashdotted. Here(3) provides clues: "allowing plant personnel to repair or replace motors before their production capacity drops or they fail entirely," and, "the two-way communications network will enable the use of control applications. For example, if a monitoring system is being used on a generator and has sent notification that it is running too hot, the monitoring personnel could issue wireless commands back to the generator for it to turn on its exhaust fan."

I can see the usefulness of doing these things in terms of fewer breakdowns, but where is the energy-saving tie in, particularly the claim that the sensor system will "increase a motor's efficiency by 10 to 20 percent" ???