Mole-Inspired Sensor Network Talks with Underground Sound
Outcome/Accomplishment
A team of Arizona State University (ASU) researchers at The Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics (CBBG), a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Engineering Research Center (ERC), have successfully demonstrated core functionality of a seismic wireless sensor network (WSN). The team developed a novel device and communication method to send and receive decipherable messages through underground vibrations.
Impact/Benefits
The researchers have showcased the maturity of seismic WSN technology by addressing both its scientific merit and cost. The NSF CBBG team repurposed common parts to develop economically viable devices then deployed them in a real environment, where their novel WSN demonstrated the ability to communicate at distances up to fifty feet.
Explanation/Background
The two major barriers addressed in this work are deployment cost and transmission range. Dr. Julian Tao and his team developed seismic WSN nodes that are composed of acoustic sensors paired with low-frequency vibration motors found in commercially available mole repellents. The function of these devices proved so successful that patents have been filed in a significant step toward commercialization.
Electromagnetic (EM) waves like FM radio are great for communicating through large stretches of unobstructed space, but they are easily blocked or attenuated by media such as water and soil. The team found inspiration in the way moles and other subterranean mammals generate and respond to seismic waves to create an innovative communication system capable of overcoming the inherent limitations of EM. Seismic waves are like very low frequency audio, compression waves that propagate by displacing the medium in the direction of travel and are well adapted to traveling through the ground.
Location
Tempe, ArizonaStart Year
Energy and Sustainability
Energy and Smart Infrastructure
Lead Institution
Core Partners
Fact Sheet
Outcome/Accomplishment
A team of Arizona State University (ASU) researchers at The Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics (CBBG), a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Engineering Research Center (ERC), have successfully demonstrated core functionality of a seismic wireless sensor network (WSN). The team developed a novel device and communication method to send and receive decipherable messages through underground vibrations.
Location
Tempe, ArizonaStart Year
Energy and Sustainability
Energy and Smart Infrastructure
Lead Institution
Core Partners
Fact Sheet
Impact/benefits
The researchers have showcased the maturity of seismic WSN technology by addressing both its scientific merit and cost. The NSF CBBG team repurposed common parts to develop economically viable devices then deployed them in a real environment, where their novel WSN demonstrated the ability to communicate at distances up to fifty feet.
Explanation/Background
The two major barriers addressed in this work are deployment cost and transmission range. Dr. Julian Tao and his team developed seismic WSN nodes that are composed of acoustic sensors paired with low-frequency vibration motors found in commercially available mole repellents. The function of these devices proved so successful that patents have been filed in a significant step toward commercialization.
Electromagnetic (EM) waves like FM radio are great for communicating through large stretches of unobstructed space, but they are easily blocked or attenuated by media such as water and soil. The team found inspiration in the way moles and other subterranean mammals generate and respond to seismic waves to create an innovative communication system capable of overcoming the inherent limitations of EM. Seismic waves are like very low frequency audio, compression waves that propagate by displacing the medium in the direction of travel and are well adapted to traveling through the ground.