Journal of Sensor and Actuator Networks

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Open AccessArticle

A Calibration Report for Wireless Sensor-Based Weatherboards

by Muthoni Masinde and Antoine Bagula

J. Sens. Actuator Netw. 2015, 4(1), 30-49; https://doi.org/10.3390/jsan4010030 - 09 Mar 2015

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 8269

Sub-Saharan Africa contains the highest number of people affected by droughts. Although this can easily be mitigated through the provision of timely, reliable and relevant weather forecasts, the sparse network of weather stations in most of these countries makes this difficult. Rapid development in wireless sensor networks has resulted in weatherboards capable of capturing weather parameters at the micro-level. Although these weatherboards offer a viable solution to Africa’s drought, the acceptability of such data by meteorologists is only possible if these sensors are calibrated and their field readiness scientifically evaluated. This is the contribution of this paper; we present results of a calibration exercise that was carried out to: (1) measure and correct lag, random and systematic errors; (2) determine if Perspex was an ideal material for building sensor boards’ enclosures; and (3) identify sensor boards’ battery charging and depletion rates. The result is a calibration report detailing actual error and uncertainty values for atmospheric pressure, humidity and temperature sensors, as well as the recharge and discharge curves of the batteries. The results further ruled out the use of Perspex for enclosing the sensor boards. These experiments pave the way for the design and implementation of a sensor-based weather monitoring system (SenseWeather) that was piloted in two regions in Kenya. Full article

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Open AccessArticle

Connected Car: Quantified Self becomes Quantified Car

by Melanie Swan

J. Sens. Actuator Netw. 2015, 4(1), 2-29; https://doi.org/10.3390/jsan4010002 - 04 Feb 2015

Cited by 71 | Viewed by 30563

Abstract

The automotive industry could be facing a situation of profound change and opportunity in the coming decades. There are a number of influencing factors such as increasing urban and aging populations, self-driving cars, 3D parts printing, energy innovation, and new models of transportation service delivery (Zipcar, Uber). The connected car means that vehicles are now part of the connected world, continuously Internet-connected, generating and transmitting data, which on the one hand can be helpfully integrated into applications, like real-time traffic alerts broadcast to smartwatches, but also raises security and privacy concerns. This paper explores the automotive connected world, and describes five killer QS (Quantified Self)-auto sensor applications that link quantified-self sensors (sensors that measure the personal biometrics of individuals like heart rate) and automotive sensors (sensors that measure driver and passenger biometrics or quantitative automotive performance metrics like speed and braking activity). The applications are fatigue detection, real-time assistance for parking and accidents, anger management and stress reduction, keyless authentication and digital identity verification, and DIY diagnostics. These kinds of applications help to demonstrate the benefit of connected world data streams in the automotive industry and beyond where, more fundamentally for human progress, the automation of both physical and now cognitive tasks is underway. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers)

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Open AccessEditorial

Acknowledgement to Reviewers of the Journal of Sensor and Actuator Networks in 2014

by Journal of Sensor Actuator Networks Editorial Office

J. Sens. Actuator Netw. 2015, 4(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/jsan4010001 - 13 Jan 2015

Viewed by 6470

Abstract

The editors of the Journal of Sensor and Actuator Networks would like to express their sincere gratitude to the following reviewers for assessing manuscripts in 2014:[...] Full article

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J. Sens. Actuator Netw., Volume 4, Issue 1 (March 2015) – 3 articles , Pages 1-49

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