Apr 30 2010
MEMSIC, a specialist in smart sensor technologies, has introduced a new, integrated sensor board called the Imote2 Structural Health Monitoring Board (ISM400).
This sensor board uses a series of wireless smart sensors that provide a cost-effective solution for consistent Structural Health Monitoring (SHM).
The ISM400 has been designed and tested by the Illinois Structural Health Monitoring Project (ISHMP). MEMSIC received the license to distribute the ISM400 sensor boards for commercial applications.
According to MEMSIC’s Vice President of Worldwide Sales - System Business, Steve Tsui, the company’s partnership presents new possibilities of using wireless sensors. For instance, the sensors can be used to monitor highways, bridges, as well as seismic events in places where using conventional monitoring systems can prove quite costly.
The ISM400, available from MEMSIC, is integrated with humidity, light detection, temperature and vibration functionalities in a single platform. These functionalities enable the sensor board to provide a solid, power efficient solution. The ISM400 contains a key module called Quickfilter QF4A512. This module is a programmable signal conditioner and a four-channel analog-to-digital converter with programmable digital filters and sampling rates. Users can easily select these sampling rates.
The ISM400 integrates with Imote2 through I2C I/O and SPI, and contains a three-axis analog accelerometer that measures vibrations. The board also features an analog input, light, humidity, and digital temperature sensors. The ISM400 allows structural health monitoring that was earlier lacking in Imote2.
After rigorous lab work and testing procedures, ISHMP researchers carried a full-scale monitoring process on South Korea’s Jindo Bridge. A sensor network comprising 70 ISM400/Imote2 nodes were installed. For civil infrastructure needs, this deployment signifies the largest of its kind.
According to UIUC’s Professor of Civil Engineering Dr. Bill Spencer, the ISM400/Imote2 platform has the ability to collect synchronized vibration data wirelessly. The ISM400 sensor meets the needs of those communities involved in structural health monitoring processes. He further informed that large-scale implementation of structural health monitoring will soon be possible with smart wireless sensors.
The ISM400 is backed by ISHMP Services Toolsuite, a software library that provides customized services and SHM applications by using wireless smart sensor networks. The ISHMP Services Toolsuite uses an operating system, TinyOS.
Source: http://www.memsic.com/