An intelligent actuator controller for wireless sensor/actuator networks

Wireless sensor/actuator network (WSAN) is a new generation of sensor network. It comprises of a number of distributed sensors and actuators that communicate through wireless links. By serving as the backbone of control systems, WSANs offers advantages in terms of cost and flexibility, and enables an unprecedented degree of distributed control. Compared with wireless sensor network (WSN), WSAN is not only able to sense the physical environment, but also to perform actions to change the physical world in response to the sensed events. To take this advantage, intelligent actuators needed to be developed to support event detection and actuator behavior coordination. However, so far, less effort was made in addressing this work. In this paper, we intend to provide a new intelligent actuator solution for home/industrial automation applications using WSANs. First, the design requirements and concepts of WISA's actuators are introduced, the software /hardware architecture are proposed, and then, a new intelligent motor controller that is able to access the WSAN and act as an integral part of the network to perform actions interacting with the physical world is implemented. Finally, the conclusion and future work are given.