Next-Generation Wireless Sensor Networks Infrastructure Development for Monitoring Applications

In this paper, a development of sensor node for environment monitoring is described. The Reconfigurable System-On-chip (RSOC) technology is used to integrate the node's main components on Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) chip. The main components required to support the environmental applications such as pixels sensor, reconfigurable processing core, and a tiny solar unit for recharging node's battery, are implemented on the node. The use of FPGA chips has made such nodes consume large power. Therefore, nodes are provided with tiny rechargeable unit to recharge the nodes’ batteries. The nodes should be installed at well-setting environmental applications, where nodes are carefully distributed over the environmental applications field to be exposed to daylight, which will help recharge nodes’ batteries. Applications such as border control and forest fire monitoring can use such nodes at their wireless sensor networks.