Redundant Wireless Sensor Array for Rotorcraft Battery Life Extension
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Solution Overview
Problem
In rotorcraft systems, traditional wired sensors are impractical for components that rotate or are in sealed, inaccessible systems, leading to battery life limitations and high costs for power and data cabling, especially in remote or sealed subsystems.
Innovation Solution
A wireless sensor system with multiple sensors that activate sequentially to extend battery life, allowing customization of sensor numbers based on component service intervals, and switching between sensors to maintain continuous monitoring without the need for frequent maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If wired sensors are used in rotorcraft systems, then power and data cabling costs are high and installation is complex, but wireless sensors have limited battery life
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system is divided into multiple independent sensor units, each with its own battery. Instead of one sensor needing continuous power, multiple sensors share the monitoring duty, allowing individual batteries to be smaller while collectively providing extended operational life through sequential or parallel operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements sensor rotation where sensors are cycled through active and standby states. When a sensor's battery is depleted or it detects a fault, it is discarded from active duty and another sensor from the array takes over, recovering the monitoring function without requiring battery replacement in each unit.
2Duration of action of moving object
If redundant sensors are deployed to extend battery life, then the number of sensors increases, but system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple sensor units are merged into a single coordinated system where they share common communication protocols, power management logic, and data processing. The sensors operate as a unified array with centralized or distributed intelligence that manages sensor selection, state transitions, and data aggregation, reducing overall system complexity despite increased sensor count.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor array implements dynamic sensor selection and state management. Sensors can transition between active, standby, and fault states based on real-time conditions such as battery charge levels, detected faults, or system demands. This dynamic allocation optimizes the use of available sensors and extends system operational life without requiring fixed, overly complex redundancy schemes.
3Reliability
If sensors operate continuously to ensure monitoring coverage, then data collection is comprehensive, but battery consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous operation, sensors operate in periodic cycles with active monitoring phases followed by low-power standby or sleep phases. The system maintains comprehensive monitoring coverage by rotating through multiple sensors in the array, ensuring that at least one sensor is actively collecting data at any given time while others conserve battery power.
Solution Approach 2:
Sensors autonomously manage their own power consumption by monitoring their battery status and transitioning to low-power modes when appropriate. The sensor array collectively self-regulates to maintain monitoring coverage while optimizing overall power usage, with individual sensors making independent decisions about when to activate or enter standby based on system state and their own energy reserves.
Data Source
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Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A method for operating a sensor system includes detecting (903) a first wake trigger by a plurality of sensors for a component disposed in a remote location, generating (905), by each sensor, sensor service data that includes a battery charge level of the sensor, determining (909) an active sensor according to the sensor service data of each sensor of the plurality of sensors, and assigning (915) the active sensor to enter an active mode assigning (913) each sensor of the plurality of sensors, other than the active sensor, to enter a sleep mode (1033), generating (917), by the active sensor, sensor reading data for the component until an inactive trigger is detected, sending (919) the sensor reading data using a wireless transmission to a sensor data server, and leaving the active mode by the active sensor and entering a sleep mode in response to the active sensor detecting (921) an inactive trigger.