J. Sens. Actuator Netw. 2013, 2(1), 156-171; doi:10.3390/jsan2010156
Article

“And Then, the Weekend Started”: Story of a WSN Deployment on a Construction Site

Tomás Fernández-Steeger 1,* email, Matteo Ceriotti 2 email, Jó Ágila Bitsch Link 2 email, Matthias May 1 email, Klaus Hentschel 1 email and Klaus Wehrle 2 email
1 Department of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology, RWTH Aachen University, Lochnerstraße 4-20, 52064 Aachen, Germany 2 Communication and Distributed Systems, RWTH Aachen University, Ahornstraße 55, 52074 Aachen, Germany
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 5 January 2013; in revised form: 8 February 2013 / Accepted: 25 February 2013 / Published: 11 March 2013
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Abstract: Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are versatile monitoring systems that can provide a large amount of real-time data in scenarios where wired infrastructures are inapplicable or expensive. This technology is expected to be handled by domain experts, who perceive a WSN as a (promised to be) easy to deploy black box. This work presents the deployment experience of a WSN, as conducted by domain experts, in a ground improvement area. Building upon off-the-shelf solutions, a fuel cell powered gateway and 21 sensor devices measuring acceleration, inclination, temperature and barometric pressure were installed to monitor ground subsidence. We report about how poor GSM service, malfunctioning hardware, unknown communication patterns and obscure proprietary software required in-field ad-hoc solutions. Through the lessons learned, we look forward to investigating how to make the deployment of these systems an easier task.
Keywords: sensor network deployment; experiences; in-field debugging

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MDPI and ACS Style

Fernández-Steeger, T.; Ceriotti, M.; Bitsch Link, J.Á.; May, M.; Hentschel, K.; Wehrle, K. “And Then, the Weekend Started”: Story of a WSN Deployment on a Construction Site. J. Sens. Actuator Netw. 2013, 2, 156-171.

AMA Style

Fernández-Steeger T, Ceriotti M, Bitsch Link JÁ, May M, Hentschel K, Wehrle K. “And Then, the Weekend Started”: Story of a WSN Deployment on a Construction Site. Journal of Sensor and Actuator Networks. 2013; 2(1):156-171.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Fernández-Steeger, Tomás; Ceriotti, Matteo; Bitsch Link, Jó Ágila; May, Matthias; Hentschel, Klaus; Wehrle, Klaus. 2013. "“And Then, the Weekend Started”: Story of a WSN Deployment on a Construction Site." J. Sens. Actuator Netw. 2, no. 1: 156-171.

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