Measurement Systems and Sensors
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Chapter 7 Wireless Measurement Systems 7.1 WIRELESS TRANSMISSION OF MEASUREMENT DATA Playing an increasingly more important role in technology, as well as in daily life, wireless communication systems from the very beginning have also been used for data transmission in distributed measurement systems. Wireless transmission is the only possible transmission method in systems where the object of measure- ment is moving (e.g., a vehicle), or is a large distance away from the measurement system center (e.g., radar sondes or spatial bodies), or is hardly accessible. When deployment or operating costs of a telephone or measurement line are high, wire- less measurement systems can provide an alternative to their wired counterparts. Wireless data transmission is serial only, even in multichannel systems. There are three types of measurement systems with wireless data trans- mission: • Distributed measurement systems with data transmission through a cellular telecommunication network (mobile telecommunications); • Distributed measurement systems with data transmission through dedicated (nontelephone) radio channels; • Measurement systems with short distance wireless data transmission through infrared or radio frequency link. The first two types of measurement systems are distributed within the cover- age of communications systems, and thus their range can be practically global. In particular, such systems can involve spatial objects as well. In contrast to the mobile phone network-based systems, principally designed for audio signal (mainly voice) transmission, and in which data transfer is just one of several functions, distributed systems using dedicated radio channels are de- signed and constructed for digital data transmission exclusively. A radio-trans- mission system comprises transmitters, receivers, a set of radiomodems, and measurement units. Besides their telemetric, or remote measurement functions, such systems often have remote control functions as well. 167 168 Measurement Systems and Sensors An entirely different role in a measurement system is played by short- distance wireless data transmission within the distance of 1m to 10m. An infrared link or a radio link can be used in place of an electric cable, an optical fiber, or a group of cables, due to difficult physical conditions for wiring, or insufficient space for connectors in the casing. An advantage of a shortdistance radio link is the possibility of using touch sensors with microtransmitters for moving (e.g, spinning) object measurements. In this case, wireless data transmission from sensor to receiver combines the benefits of contact and remote measurements. Two wireless data transmission standards of range 1m to 10m are likely to come into widespread use. One, referred to as IrDA, is an infrared link presently allowing transmission at speeds up to 4 Mbps within the range of 1m. The other standard is Bluetooth, a radio interface working in the 2.45 GHz frequency band, designed for data transmission within 10m and delivering data rates up to 1 Mbps. Bluetooth can connect two to eight digital devices, forming a so-called piconet. A license, issued by a relevant government agency, is required for radio transmission. For open telephone network users, the license is obtained by the network operator. Transmission in other communication systems requires a special paid authorization, which is applied for by the user, and which is issued for specific frequency band, transmission power, and antenna height. No license is required to use low-power (i.e., less than 20 mW) transmitters in frequency bands below 800 MHz, but the certification of type is still necessary for such devices. Most of the currently licensed radio channels use the 450-MHz frequency band. Besides, a license-free Industry, Science, and Medicine (ISM) band is available in many countries. Though meant principally for industrial, scientific, and medical use, as indicated by its name, the ISM band can be used also for controlling household equipment (e.g., a garage door remote control) or modelers’ devices with low-power transmitters. Two ISM bands are available worldwide, in frequency ranges from 2.4 to 2.4835 GHz, and from 5.72 to 5.85 GHz (in Europe, the United States, and Japan); a third band, from 902 to 928 MHz, is available in the United States. Bluetooth, HomeRF, IEEE-802.11, and HIPERLAN radio interfaces use the ISM band as well. 7.2 MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS WITH GSM-BASED DATA TRANSMISSION 7.2.1 GSM Mobile Phone Network Voice transmission in the first mobile phone systems, referred to as first generation (1G) systems, was (and still is) analog. Those systems work in the 450- or 900-MHz frequency bands. Examples of 1G mobile phone systems are: Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), still operating in the United States; and Nordic Mobile Telephone (NMT), used in Scandinavia and in other countries. Wireless Measurement Systems 169 At present, the main mobile phone system is Global System of Mobile Communications (GSM), an entirely digital second generation (2G) system, working in the 900- or 1,800-MHz bands. Despite the word ”global” in its name, GSM is used only in Europe. Its counterparts elsewhere are Digital AMPS in the United States, and Japanese Digital Cellular (JDC) system in Japan and Asia, slightly differing from GSM, but based on the same technology. The North American digital mobile phone network is also called TDMA (IS-136 standard), from the Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) technique used in this network. The U.S. mobile phone system uses the 1,900-MHz rather than the 1,800-MHz band. In GSM systems, digital data transmission (including data measurement transmission) is just one of several mobile phone functions, the main being voice transmission. A step forward in the evolution of mobile telecommunications was the implementation of General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) in GSM. A substantial upgrade of basic GSM networks was necessary to launch this new data transmission service; new GPRS-supporting mobile phone models had to be designed as well. GSM networks with GPRS are referred to as 2.5G mobile communication systems. The implementation of a third generation system (3G) referred to as Univer- sal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), operating in the 1,950-MHz and 2,150-MHz bands, is important progress in wireless data transmission. This is due to the assumed high data transfer speed values (up to 2 Mbps), a global access (beyond the mobile phone network coverage, the system is to be accessible via satellite), and a possibility of interworking with Public Switched Telephone Net- works (PSTN), including Broadband-Integrated Services Digital Network (B- ISDN). Although GSM can be used for data transmission, the maximum data transfer speed (rate), limited by the radio interface parameters, typically does not exceed 9.6 kbps with one channel used. GSM structure and data transmission in the system are shown in Figure 7.1. The system consists of mobile stations (mobile phones), base stations with controllers, a switching system, an operation and support system, and an interface to other telecommunication systems. Mobile Stations (MS), commonly known as mobile phones, are in radio communication with base stations. The primary function of a mobile station is the same as that of a classic telephone with a handset, digital keys, a low-power transmitter, and a high-sensitivity receiver. However, getting more and more functions, a mobile phone is now able to process data, both keyed (in schedule or calculator functions), and transmitted via the telephone network. A mobile station consists of two basic components: a Mobile Terminal (MT) and a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). Each mobile terminal bears a unique number, referred to as International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), which allows identification of the mobile phone in the global network. The SIM is an exchangeable smart card. 170 Measurement Systems and Sensors The Base Station System (BSS) comprises a number of base stations, installed on poles or towers, and a base station controller. The base stations work in the 900, 1,800, or 1,900 MHz frequency band. Each base station is equipped with an antenna, a radio wave receiver, a radio wave transmitter, and radio signal processing units. Each base station controller is connected to several base stations (usually through an electric cable or an optical fiber, although a radio link can be used as well). A controller switches channels for each station, controls mobile station power, and transmits signals in both directions between base stations and the mobile system center. Figure 7.1 GSM system structure. The Switching System comprises a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) and a database, as well as hardware and software necessary for communication with fixed phone networks (PSTN, ISDN, and data transmission network) and with other mobile phone systems. The database contains information on current mobile station localization, as well as all the data necessary for user identification and authorization. Transmission in the GSM system is performed in duplex mode, which involves the necessity of using a double (duplex) transmission channel. In GSM 900 (the GSM system using the 900-MHz frequency band), separate frequency bands are allocated for mobile station-base station and base station-mobile station transmission channels, referred to as uplink and downlink channels, respectively; the uplink band ranges from 890 to 915 MHz, and the downlink band is from 935 to 960 MHz. The number of uplink channels is 124, equaling the Wireless Measurement Systems 171 number of downlink channels; the width of each channel band is 200 kHz. Channel-free 100-kHz bands are reserved on the limits of the uplink and downlink bands. Beside frequency, time slots must be allocated in order to create a transmission channel. The TDMA technique is used, allowing transmission channel multiplexing. The time interval, or TDMA frame, of period 4.615 ms, is divided into 8 time slots, 577 ms each. With 124 frequency channels and 8 time slots, 992 duplex transmission channels can be created simultaneously by a single base station, without taking into account the possibility of channel multiplexing through half-rate voice coding.