A Wireless Sensor Network for Cold-Chain Monitoring

Abstract

This paper deals with a wireless sensor network that was specifically designed to monitor temperature-sensitive products during their distribution with the aim of conforming to the cold-chain assurance requirements. The measurement problems and the constraints that have been encountered in this application are initially highlighted, and then, an architecture that takes such problems into account is proposed. The proposed architecture is based on specifically designed measuring nodes that are inserted into the products to identify their behavior under real operating conditions, e.g., during a typical distribution. Such product nodes communicate through a wireless channel with a base station, which collects and processes the data sent by all the nodes. A peculiarity of the product nodes is the low cost, which allows the information on the cold-chain integrity to be provided to the final customer. The results that refer to the functional tests of the proposed system and to the experimental tests performed on a refrigerated vehicle during a distribution are reported.

Redução de perdas nas cadeias de frutas e hortaliças pela análise da vida útil dinâmica

“…Cadeia do frio refere-se a um processo de logística de baixa temperatura, a qual utiliza a tecnologia de refrigeração, garantindo condições específicas de temperatura e umidade relativa no contêiner de transporte de frutas e hortaliças, com a finalidade de manter a qualidade dos alimentos (CARULLO et al, 2009). Considerando-se as características específicas de conservação de muitas frutas e hortaliças com curta vida útil, evitar alterações das condições de conservação destes produtos nos diferentes elos da cadeia torna-se fundamental.…”

Design and Implementation of an Industrial Wireless Sensor Network for Temperature Monitoring

“…In last decade, different researchers have put significant research interest in WSNs and have successfully employed it in many commercial areas such as environmental monitoring, cold-chain monitoring, and structural health monitoring [1][2][3]. Although WSNs provide a potential approach for industrial process monitoring, the application of industrial wireless sensor networks (IWSNs) for device monitoring is relatively unexplored because of the harsh industrial environment.…”

RoSe: A Subgigahertz Wireless Sensor Platform With Housing-Integrated Overmolded Antenna

“…Most of the mentioned published research describes either bare node platforms as in [3] and [4] or node platforms in application-specific prototype housing [5]- [7]. In [5], for instance, the authors present a modular approach built around the battery accepting it as the largest part of the wireless sensor node and using a commercial off-the-shelf monopole antenna of acceptable size.…”

“…In [6], the authors built a waterproof packaging and developed their protocol for a node based on a standard electronics for the application of debris flow monitoring. In [7], the platform presented uses a node smaller in size than that in [6] and provides much greater autonomy. Indeed, the terms low power and energy efficient translate in different battery autonomies for distinct applications having 5 months on 2-D-size batteries in [6] and targeting more than 2 years on CR2477 primary coin cell in [7].…”

“…In [7], the platform presented uses a node smaller in size than that in [6] and provides much greater autonomy. Indeed, the terms low power and energy efficient translate in different battery autonomies for distinct applications having 5 months on 2-D-size batteries in [6] and targeting more than 2 years on CR2477 primary coin cell in [7]. Proprietary system-on-chip solutions [8] have also been proposed by combining the microcontroller (MCU) and the transmitter on a single chip.…”