Wireless sensor networks for industrial processes

The paper describes our work to explore the use of wireless sensor networks for industrial processes. Long term challenges including communication in a hostile environment, ad hoc networking, computing platforms, process imaging, sensing, miniaturization, compliance, micro-electromechanical systems and power harvesting are introduced. The issues are generic for applications to industrial process but the present work is targeted at monitoring grain storage. One requirement is to provide estimates of local position in a vessel and the paper describes progress towards using RF signal strength in the network for this purpose.