Implementation of Sensor Network for Indoor Air Quality Monitoring Using CAN Interface

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a key factor for ensuring the safety, health and comfort of the people. Since physical variables describing IAQ, such as the concentration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), concentrations of gaseous air contaminants and that of other toxic gases need to be closely monitored, concept of distributed monitoring and control network needs to be implemented. In this paper, a framework of sensor network for monitoring IAQ is explained where sensors are physically distributed and the serial common bus communication network CAN is used to exchange system information. CAN (Controller Area Network) is a high integrity serial bus protocol that is designed to operate at high speeds ranging from 20kbit/s to 1Mbit/s which provide an efficient, reliable and very economical link between sensor nodes and display node. This paper proposes Atmel CANary based sensor nodes and display node for the monitoring of indoor air quality. The communication between the sensor nodes and the display node through the CAN bus is evaluated through hardware tests.