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Wireless gas monitor with IEEE 1451 protocol

Conference Paper · February 2006

DOI: 10.1109/SAS.2006.1634262 · Source: IEEE Xplore

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SAS 2006 – IEEE Sensors Applications Symposium
Houston, Texas USA, 7-9 February 2006

A Wireless Gas Monitor with IEEE 1451 Protocol

Darold Wobschall
Esensors Inc., 4240 Ridge Lea Road, Amherst NY 14226
Phone: (716)837-8719, Fax: (716)837-8740, Email : [email protected]

Abstract - A portable gas monitor capable of measuring the

concentrations of several environmental and toxic gases is
described. Interchangeable gas sensor heads with TEDS provide
automatic ID and calibration. Data is transmitted to the Internet
(via Ethernet) and wirelessly (point-to-point or Zigbee mesh
network) with IEEE 1451.5 protocol. The portable monitor is
intended to monitor gas levels in buildings by First Responders.

Keywords - IEEE 1451, gas, chemical, sensor, wireless

I. INTRODUCTION

Chemical gas monitoring in buildings is needed both to Fig. 1. Block Diagram of Plug-in Sensor Module with Signal Conditioner
detect acute gas releases, deliberate and accidental, and
also to monitor chronic, undesirable gas buildup in the Excitation or voltage current supply requirements for
environment. Remote, often long-term, monitoring of these sensors fall into two groups: {1} heaters (1 to 5 v, up
groups of distributed sensors capable of detecting a variety to 200 ma) and/or {2} precision reference voltages (0.1 to
of gases is usually required. Different gases require sensors 2.5 v). To supply the first group, a switching regulator (dc-
of various technologies [5,7], with different signal to-dc supply) with feedback determined by a digital
conditioners and calibration/linearization requirements. potentiometer is used (Fig. 2). It produces the required
However an easily used, common format readout in heater voltage between 1 and 5 volts (10-200 ma).
engineering units (e.g. ppm) is required, especially for Adjustment of the voltage is done through a serial digital
emergency personnel. To accommodate this need, a (SPI) signal from the microcontroller. The heater current is
versatile, multi-sensor electronics with an IEEE TEDS (for measured by a 1-ohm shunt resistor (and amplifier) so that
ID and calibration) has been developed [6]. the heater current or current can be controlled to a specific
set point.
II. DESCRIPTION

A. Signal Conditioners

The monitor is based on an electronic sensor signal

conditioner which can automatically adapt to a wide
variety of commercial off-the-shelf gas sensor elements
and provide a digital output in a standard format. It has
analog and digital sections (Fig. 1). The analog section
consists of a sensor excitation sub-section and a signal
amplification sub-section. The analog sections are
controlled by the digital section (microcontroller). The
digital section also converts the analog signal into digital
form, reads the TEDS, applies calibration constants, and
converts the signal into a standard, easily readable digital
format.
Fig. 2. Signal Conditioner Circuit (configured for a metal oxide sensor)
 For sensors requiring a precision voltage source as the C. Microcomputer/smart sensor section
excitation, the voltage from a precision 2.5-volt reference
is passed through a digitally controlled attenuator. Most Another microcontroller processes the digital sensor
sensor elements have a voltage output and most, but not data and, based on the TEDS data, converts it to
all, require a specified load resistor. An amplifier section engineering units (ppm in most cases). It also controls the
brings the voltage level up to that required by the analog- timing of the data acquisition. To conserve battery power,
to-digital converter. Because some sensors are high many sensors, and also the communication interfaces, are
impedance, the amplifier must have a low input bias turned on only for short periods. The power management
current. Many sensors require a stable DC baseline or zero section switches on the power supplies only when
and therefore the amplifier must also have a low input required. It also switches between power sources and
offset voltage. handles charging the battery.
Sensors from different manufacturers are usually made
with different technologies and have diverse shapes and
electrical connections. To accommodate these differences,
sensor modules specific to the sensor but which will plug
into a common signal conditioner connector, are made.
This approach allows a single connector or plug to be used
for all sensor modules. In addition, load resistors or other
circuit elements specific to the sensors are added if
required. The sensor microcomputer has a 10-bit a/d which
is accessed through a multiplexer from the analog section.
This section also linearizes the signal and applies the
calibrations factors. The output format is floating point (32
bit).
Fig. 3. Monitor Block Diagram
B. Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS)
D. Internet/Ethernet Interface
A standard format for digital smart sensors (IEEE
1451.4 or Dot 4) has been developed by a The control microcomputer implements a mini-web
national/international committee sponsored by NIST [5]. A server with TCP/IP format. It has Ethernet protocol
major aim is to facilitate plug-and-play of sensors. One implemented by a driver with 10-base T transformer/filter
aspect is the Transducer Electronic Data sheet (TEDS) connected to Ethernet. Data from other monitors received
which allows sensor configurations and calibration wirelessly are retransmitted to the Internet. This provides a
information to be stored (in digital form) with a sensor, type of network for monitors within range.
along with its ID. The TEDS format (one for each sensor)
is as follows:
• UUID: Supplied by EEPROM (DS2430) E. Wireless Interface
manufacturer (6 bytes)
• Basic TEDS (8 bytes) Two different wireless interfaces are available. The
o Manufacturer ID (14 bits) simplest is a point-to-point Chipcon CC1000 transceiver
o Model Number (15 bits) operating at 433 MHz [7]. It has a range of 30-100 meters
o Version Letter (5 bits, A-Z) and is intended to communicate between an internal
o Version Number (6 bits) monitor and one located at an Ethernet jack or at a
o Serial Number (6 bits) computer with an Ethernet connection.
• Manufacturer’s TEDS: The other wireless transceiver is a Zigbee (IEEE
o Sensor type and calibration (16 bytes) 802.15.4) operating at 2.4 GHz and which has mesh
networking capability [8,9].
When the sensor module is plugged in, the
microcontroller reads the TEDS and reconfigures the F. Packaging
excitation and amplifier sections for the signal conditioner
to match. Additionally sensitivity and zero offset constants The monitor circuit was implemented with three printed
are provided for software conversion algorithms. circuit boards in a case with plug-in sensor modules (Fig.
4).
 If another sensor is plugged in instead (Fig. 4), the
electronics and software calculations reconfigure to the
new sensor. It is our intention to convert the IEEE 1451.4
style data to the more standard IEEE 1451.0 format in the
future.

Fig. 4. Photo of Monitor with Four plug-in sensors

Fig. 7. Display of Gas Concentration in Engineering Units
III. RESULTS
We conclude that the method of implementing gas
The responses of the monitor to two different types of sensor plug and play is effective.
gas sensors are shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The Volatile
Organic Compound (VOC) sensor responds to a variety of ACKNOWLEDGMENT
solvents and is here tested with acetone. The data is shown
is at the analog stage (Fig. 1). Using the calibration data, The support of the Dept. of Homeland Security (Task
the gas concentration in units of parts per million (ppm) is #2006, Contract # W91CRB-04-C-4184 from TSWG) is
subsequently calculated. The data, now in engineering acknowledged.
units, are shown on the computer display in Fig. 7.
REFERENCES
VOC Sensor Response
1. Esensors website; www.eesensors.com
250 2. D. Wobschall, “Websensor Design – Smart sensors with an Internet
Address” Proceedings Sensors Expo (Philadelphia, Oct. 2001)
Sensor Resistance(KOhms

200 3. “Electronic Noses: Principles and Applications”, J. Gardner and P.

150
Bartlett, Oxford University Press (March 1, 1999)
Rs2 4. Chemical sensor review:
100 www.sandia.gov/sensor/SAND2001-0643.pd
5. IEEE 1451 information http://ieee1451.nist.gov/ and
50
grouper.ieee.org/.../Review%20on%20the%20Proposed%20Survey
0
%20of%20Wireless%20Sensor%20Requiremen.ppt
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 6. Darold Wobschall, “An IEEE 1451 NCAP Prototype with Multiple
Square root of Gas Conc(uL)
Serial Ports and Internet Access,” Proc. Sensors Expo (June 2003)
and ““Smart Signal Conditioner Technology for Networked Gas
Sensors,“ Sensor Gov (Virginia Beach, Sept 2004)
7. Chipcon CC1000 transceiver
Fig. 5. Response of a VOC sensor to Acetone Vapor http://www.chipcon.com/index.cfm?kat_id=2&subkat_id=12&dok_
id=105
Sensor Response for IR sensor
8. Freescale/Motorola
http://e-
3.2 www.motorola.com/brdata/PDFDB/docs/802_15_4FACT.pdf
3.15 9. The ZigBee Alliance: http://www.zigbee.org/
3.1
Sensor Voltage(V

3.05 Vout1
3 Vout2
Vout3
2.95
Vavg
2.9
2.85
2.8
2.75
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
Gas Concentration(ppm)

Fig. 6. Response of an IR sensor to Carbon Dioxide Gas

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