CAREER: Bringing Wireless Sensor Networks Underground

在这个CAREER项目中，研究了通过土壤传输信息的无线地下传感器网络的发展。更具体地说，考虑了地下网络在农业中的应用，其中地下传感器网络承诺显著减少灌溉用水。该项目的目标是为实现地下传感器网络建立地下网络的基础，开发实际操作的教育工具，并提供经验，以促进这些技术向包括学生和农民在内的更多受众传播。地下环境下的通信性能受到土壤条件变化的显著影响。因此，研究活动的重点是在土壤成分、土壤湿度和深度等环境因素的影响下重新审视连通性和干扰的概念。此外，本文还开发了一个理论框架，用于捕获地下传感器网络中土壤湿度的时空相关性，从而实现环境感知通信协议的开发。从这些分析中获得的见解被用于开发基于事件的跨层通信平台，该平台以节能的方式适应环境。最后，建立了农业地下传感器网络试验台，对研究成果进行了评价和突出。教育内容包括将无线传感器网络引入课堂，开发交互式网络物理网络实验室，并为“小农民”提供实践经验。地下网络技术的实现具有改变农业产业的潜力，以及广泛的应用，包括边境巡逻，周界监视和有毒物质监测。

In this CAREER project, the development of wireless underground sensor networks, which carries information through soil, is investigated. More specifically, the application of underground networking in agriculture is considered, where underground sensor networks promise significant reduction in water usage for irrigation. The objectives of this project are to establish the foundations of underground networking for the realization of underground sensor networks, develop hands-on educational tools, and provide experiences to facilitate the dissemination of these techniques to a larger audience including students and farmers. Communication performance in underground settings is significantly affected by the variations in soil conditions. Hence, the research activities are focused on revisiting the concepts of connectivity and interference under the influence of environmental factors such as soil composition, soil moisture, and depth. Moreover, a theoretical framework is developed to capture the spatial and temporal correlations in soil moisture for underground sensor networks, enabling the development of environment-aware communication protocols. The insights from these analyses are exploited to develop event-based cross-layer communication platforms that adapt to the environment in an energy efficient manner. Finally, an agricultural underground sensor network testbed is developed to evaluate and highlight the outcomes of this research. The educational components include bringing wireless sensor networking to the class, developing an interactive cyber-physical networking lab, and providing hands-on experiences for "little farmers". The realization of the underground networking techniques has the potential to transform the agriculture industry, as well as a broad range of applications including border patrol, perimeter surveillance, and toxic material monitoring.