Distributed Impedance Sensing for Concurrent Broadband Measurement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional impedance measurement systems are limited by complexity, latency, data errors, and data loss due to serial operation and lack of real-time broadband impedance measurements, particularly in battery management systems, which do not measure impedance in alternating current circuits, hindering in-situ diagnostics and prognostics across the device life cycle.
Innovation Solution
A distributed impedance measurement system with a cloud-based network of servers and supervisor controllers, coupled with sensor pods, enables concurrent impedance measurements on multiple devices, eliminating the need for multiplexing and providing near real-time broadband impedance data through a distributed hardware architecture.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If conventional impedance measurement devices operate serially with multiplexing, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision and reliability deteriorate due to data errors and data loss
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the impedance measurement function into distributed sensor pods, each capable of independent concurrent measurements. This segmentation eliminates the need for multiplexing while maintaining system manageability, as each pod operates autonomously to measure impedance of connected devices without interference from other measurements.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple sensor pods are combined in a distributed network architecture that enables simultaneous impedance measurements across multiple devices. The cloud-based coordination merges the data from all pods, achieving high measurement precision through concurrent operations rather than serial multiplexing.
2Device complexity
If conventional systems use serial impedance measurement, then device complexity is minimized, but productivity deteriorates due to latency and delay
Solution Approach 1:
The measurement system is segmented into multiple independent sensor pods that can operate simultaneously on different devices. This parallel architecture eliminates the serial bottleneck, allowing impedance measurements to be conducted on multiple devices at once, thereby dramatically improving productivity without requiring complex centralized coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
A cloud-based intermediary coordinates the distributed sensor pods, enabling efficient task distribution and data aggregation. The cloud intermediary manages the concurrent measurements from multiple pods, optimizing resource utilization and eliminating latency associated with serial operations while keeping individual pod complexity low.
3Productivity
If distributed hardware architecture is implemented for concurrent measurements, then productivity improves through parallel measurements, but device complexity increases due to distributed components
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the measurement functionality into standardized sensor pods that can be deployed in parallel. Each pod is a simple, self-contained unit that performs impedance measurements independently, allowing the system to scale productivity by adding more pods without significantly increasing the complexity of individual components.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor pods are designed as universal, multi-functional units that can measure impedance across various devices and configurations. This universality reduces the need for device-specific measurement hardware, allowing the distributed architecture to maintain high productivity while keeping each pod relatively simple and adaptable to different applications.
4Device complexity
If conventional BMS only senses voltage, current, or temperature, then device complexity is kept low, but measurement precision deteriorates by not capturing impedance magnitude and phase
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor pod acts as an intermediary between the simple voltage/current/temperature sensing and the complex impedance analysis. It delivers excitation signals to the device, captures the response, and performs the complex calculations to determine impedance magnitude and phase, thereby enabling precise impedance measurement without requiring the entire BMS to be complex.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces direct complex hardware-based impedance measurement with a software-based approach in the sensor pod. Instead of using complex analog circuitry to directly measure impedance, the system uses computational methods to calculate impedance from voltage and current measurements, reducing hardware complexity while maintaining or improving measurement precision.
Data Source
AI summary
A distributed impedance measurement system including a cloud based network of servers communicatively coupled through an internet to one or more supervisor controllers each communicatively connected to one or more a sensor pods each configured to connect to and perform an impedance measurement of a device, wherein each supervisor controller receives from the cloud and transfers to one or more sensor pods impedance measurement instructions to deliver an excitation signal to and record a response signal from one or more devices under test and returns the corresponding response signals to the supervisor controller which communicates the response signal to the cloud to perform analysis and return impedance measurement results to one or more client computers.