Section: Application Domains

Polling the domain

Closing feedback loops around Wireless sensor networks offers new challenges and new opportunities for the area of control. Several new application areas can be enabled, or enhanced if systematic methods are developed for the design of NCS. Examples include:

• Intelligent buildings, where sensor information on CO₂ concentration, temperature, room occupancy, etc. can be used to control the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system under multi-objective considerations of comfort, air quality, and energy consumption.

• Intelligent transportation systems, where traffic flow or density can be measured using novel wireless technologies and used to determine control inputs such as on-ramp metering schemes and variable message signs.

• Disaster relief operations, where data collected by sensor networks can be used to guide the actions of rescue crews and operate automated rescue equipment.

• Surveillance using swarms of Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), where sensor information (from sensors on the ground and/or on-board the vehicles) can be used to guide the UAVs to accomplish their mission.

• Environmental monitoring and exploration using schools of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), where underwater sensors and communication are used to guide the AUVs.

• Infrastructure security and protection using smart camera networks, where the images collected are shared among the cameras and used to control the cameras themselves (pan-tilt-zoom) and ensure tracking of potential threat.

In particular, the team is already involved in the areas described in detail below :