Design World

  • Home
  • Technologies
    • 3D CAD
    • Electronics • electrical
    • Fastening & Joining
    • Factory automation
    • Linear Motion
    • Motion Control
    • Test & Measurement
    • Sensors
    • Fluid power
  • Learn
    • Ebooks / Tech Tips
    • Engineering Week
    • Future of Design Engineering
    • MC² Motion Control Classrooms
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
  • LEAP AWARDS
  • Leadership
    • 2022 Voting
    • 2021 Winners
  • Design Guide Library
  • Resources
    • 3D Cad Models
      • PARTsolutions
      • TraceParts
    • Digital Issues
      • Design World
      • EE World
    • Women in Engineering
  • Supplier Listings

ZigBee in the Sky

By World Scientific | August 26, 2014

Share

This image depicts VELOX-I before and after deployment and a picosatellite. (Shuanglong Xie, Guo Xiong Lee, Kay-Soon Low, Erry Gunawan, 2014)

Small but mighty: Singaporean university’s miniature satellites take wireless sensor networks into space                                  

26 August 2014 – A team of engineers from Singapore has successfully piloted the world’s first ZigBee wireless sensor network (WSN) for satellite communications.

With the weight of payloads being a major constraint in satellite design, constructing a lightweight, low power-consuming, wireless communication system to do away with cabling inside the satellite has always been a challenge for system designers.

The engineering team at the Satellite Research Centre of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore launched VELOX-I, which consists of a nanosatellite weighing 3.5 kg and a piggyback picosatellite weighing 1.5 kg, from the two highest points on campus. Designed to test the hypothesis that ZigBee, a cheap but powerful land-based wireless system, will perform equally well in space, both miniature satellites were configured with a ZigBee wireless network and equipped with small sensor nodes. These nodes perform functions such as local sensing, distributed computing and data-gathering within the satellite to support intra-satellite communications.

The satellites were found to be able to maintain inter-satellite communications with each other over remarkably long distances.

This experiment marks a breakthrough in aeronautical engineering, having been designed to evaluate the performance of WSNs in space. After conducting Received Signal Strength Indicator tests on the satellites’ radio frequency modules, a maximum range of 1 km was found to be achievable for inter-satellite communication in the campus environment. An even longer communication range can be expected in free space, due to the absence of signal attenuation caused by fading and diffraction.

To estimate the range of inter-satellite communication in free space, the team applied a link budget analysis based on the Friis transmission equation, deriving an average theoretical distance of 4.186 km and a maximum of 15.552 km. Published in the special issue of Unmanned Systems, these findings present a compelling case for further studies into inter-satellite communication systems with more complex designs.

The team also found that by replacing internally wired connections with wireless links, a satellite’s mass could be reduced by as much as 10%. With the twin pressures of minimizing development costs and maximising risk diversification imposing major constraints on satellite design, the production of comprehensive yet lightweight systems could benefit significantly from WSNs.

Although WSNs have been used in a wide range of applications in recent years, their use in space applications has, until now, remained limited. The Singaporean team’s data-driven survey has established a sound platform for future formation-flying satellite missions, and seems poised to create subsequent revolutions in space.

Their report appears in Unmanned Systems’ special issue on wireless sensor networks and applications.

For more information, visit www.worldscientific.com.


Filed Under: M2M (machine to machine)

 

Related Articles Read More >

Part 6: IDE and other software for connectivity and IoT design work
Part 4: Edge computing and gateways proliferate for industrial machinery
Part 3: Trends in Ethernet, PoE, IO-Link, HIPERFACE, and single-cable solutions
Machine Learning for Sensors

DESIGN GUIDE LIBRARY

“motion

Enews Sign Up

Motion Control Classroom

Design World Digital Edition

cover

Browse the most current issue of Design World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading design engineering magazine today.

EDABoard the Forum for Electronics

Top global problem solving EE forum covering Microcontrollers, DSP, Networking, Analog and Digital Design, RF, Power Electronics, PCB Routing and much more

EDABoard: Forum for electronics

Sponsored Content

  • Global supply needs drive increased manufacturing footprint development
  • How to Increase Rotational Capacity for a Retaining Ring
  • Cordis high resolution electronic proportional pressure controls
  • WAGO’s custom designed interface wiring system making industrial applications easier
  • 10 Reasons to Specify Valve Manifolds
  • Case study: How a 3D-printed tool saved thousands of hours and dollars

Design World Podcasts

April 11, 2022
Going small with 3D printing
See More >
Engineering Exchange

The Engineering Exchange is a global educational networking community for engineers.

Connect, share, and learn today »

Design World
  • Advertising
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Manage your Design World Subscription
  • Subscribe
  • Design World Digital Network
  • Engineering White Papers
  • LEAP AWARDS

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search Design World

  • Home
  • Technologies
    • 3D CAD
    • Electronics • electrical
    • Fastening & Joining
    • Factory automation
    • Linear Motion
    • Motion Control
    • Test & Measurement
    • Sensors
    • Fluid power
  • Learn
    • Ebooks / Tech Tips
    • Engineering Week
    • Future of Design Engineering
    • MC² Motion Control Classrooms
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
  • LEAP AWARDS
  • Leadership
    • 2022 Voting
    • 2021 Winners
  • Design Guide Library
  • Resources
    • 3D Cad Models
      • PARTsolutions
      • TraceParts
    • Digital Issues
      • Design World
      • EE World
    • Women in Engineering
  • Supplier Listings