Wearable Smart Sensors Blog,

Escape and Survive a Coal Mine Event disaster.

Posted by Bob Paddock: Penn State Miner Training Program Materials: Do You Understand Mine Emergencies Are You Prepared for a Mine Emergency and nbsp;
Tags: coal mining cave in, penn state training. Comments: 0.

Wireless Digital Strong-Motion Network to Monitor Coal Mine Seismicity

Posted by Bob Paddock: Development of a Wireless Digital Strong-Motion Network to Monitor Coal Mine Seismicity is being presented by P. Swanson, NIOSH Spokane Research Laboratory, Spokane WA; C. Stewart, Bowie Resources Ltd., Ponia, CO; and W. Koontz, Mountain Coal Company, Somerset, CO. at the 27th International Conference on Ground Control in Mining . The
Tags: wireless sensor network, sensors networks. Comments: 0.

NeuSheild Radiation prevents Single Event Upsets

Posted by Bob Paddock: Single Event Upsets are a problem in the design of Coal Mining Equipment due to the natural inherent radioactive elements in Coal. Now there is a solution from Hybrid Plastics . Hybrid Plastics has released a new line of radiation shielding for your electronics, and even your face. You can get their NeuSheild material in several formats:
Tags: single event upsets, radiation shielding. Comments: 0.

2.4 GHz BodyLAN

Posted by Bob Paddock: A new BodyLAN for monitoring of vitals is coming on the market. ------------------------------------------------ Nordic Semiconductor - News December 6th, 2007 ------------------------------------------------ NEWS FROM NORDIC SEMICONDUCTOR Combating the obesity crisis: US healthcare and wellness program providers to offer reward
Tags: body network, body lan. Comments: 0.

Our challenge on Location Awareness published in Analog Dialog

Posted by Bob Paddock: Analog Dialog , a publication of Analog Devices , has published Bob Paddock's Letter To The Editor about our Location Challenge . Summary of Letter . Complete Letter with ideas on using Gravity Waves, and locating escaped convicts, drug smugglers, etc. Analog Dialog has been published since 1967. It is not well known outside of
Tags: miner tracking, j h rogers underground radio. Comments: 0.

Bluejacking, Bluesnarfing, and Bluebugging

Posted by Bob Paddock: In a Smart Sensor Networks (SSN) Security should never be an after thought: Bluejacking, Bluesnarfing, and Bluebugging -- You've Heard about Bluetooth. But How about Bluejacking, Bluesnarfing, and Bluebugging A study by research firm InsightExpress has revealed that 73% of mobile device users are not acquainted with security issues that could
Tags: security, bluebugging. Comments: 1.

Site Update: Video via ZigBee

Posted by Bob Paddock: Last week's Site Update talked about speech over 802.15.4 , this week we are introduced to a Video Doorbell using ZigBee . There are also updates in the area of Near Field Communication and Energy Sources . Lastly we have an introduction to Ultra Wide Band over Coax , which you are probably wondering why we bring it up as we deal with
Tags: energy harvesting, uwb. Comments: 0.

Site Update: Voice over IEEE 802.15.4 wireless sensor network (WSN) etc.

Posted by Bob Paddock: Site Update: Added link to Jennic's Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation (ADPCM) voice over IEEE 802.15.4 wireless sensor network (WSN), reference design. Added link to ZigBee TM "high power" RF design. Added link to NFC host controller. Added link to Vibrations good for harvesting electricity .
Tags: wireless sensor network, wsn. Comments: 1.

Site Update: Links to MSHA Rules and FAQ, and Energy Harvesting

Posted by Bob Paddock: Added links to MSHA Rules and FAQ . Added several links about Energy Harvesting for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) .
Tags: msha rules, faq. Comments: 0.

Links to MSHA Rules and FAQ

Posted by Bob Paddock: For those that have not been involved with the U.S. Department of Labor Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) previously, finding the actual governing rules can be a challenge. We have listed them here to ease your pain: Criteria for the Evaluation and Test of Intrinsically Safe Apparatus and Associated Apparatus
Tags: msha rules, msha faq. Comments: 0.

Potential Wireless Power Health Issues

Posted by Bob Paddock: As I mentioned in the Energy Sources section about the 2007 Nano-Power Forum , there are concerns of how Wireless Power Sources may impact the health of those near operating units. Louis Slesin of Microwave News states: "It's become axiomatic that wide acceptance of non-thermal effects will come from developing biomedical therapies
Tags: energy harvesting, rfid. Comments: 0.

Updated site to add Ultra Low Power Bluetooth and new 802.15.4B Book

Posted by Bob Paddock: Updated site to add Introduction to Ultra Low Power Bluetooth link, and added link to Second Edition of Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks: Enabling Wireless Sensors with IEEE 802.15.4 tm .
Tags: sensor networks, bluetooth. Comments: 0.

The Challenge is to locate a potentially injured Coal Miner, can you do it

Posted by Bob Paddock: The Challenge is to locate a potentially injured Coal Miner, in a Coal Mine that has just collapsed, using some kind of technology (You don't want to send in even more people in to a dangerous location, if you don't have to do so). Sounds easy doesn't it The first answers is always "Use GPS". GPS is 100% completely useless
Tags: miner tracking, coal mine. Comments: 0.

If I had seven million dollars, how I would spend it on miner tracking.

Posted by Bob Paddock: Someone once asked me if "you had had six to seven million dollars to spend on for research contracts in trapped miner communications and miner tracking systems for miners, what would you do with it ". These were my suggestions, as to how I would use the money: James H. Rogers: Underground and Underwater Radio Antenna .
Tags: miner tracking, miner location. Comments: 0.

Penn State Behrend RFID Training

Posted by Bob Paddock: This week (June/13/2007) I attended the RFID Training course offered at the Behrend campus of Penn State in Erie PA . The training is great "hands on" preparation for the CompTIA RFID Certification , which I'm going to be setting for later this summer. There was a lot of tips and real world examples, that you can
Tags: rfid, penn state. Comments: 0.

Bluetooth Body Area Network from National Semiconductor

Posted by Bob Paddock: Single chip "wire replacement" based on Bluetooth from National Semiconductor , will be released later this year. It is currently under Non-Disclosure to get the data sheets. Samples are available. Should work well as a Body Area Network
Tags: bluetooth, body area network. Comments: 0.

Network Data Layer Messaging Protocols for Stand-Alone, Free-Field Communications Systems

Posted by Bob Paddock: Proposal for protocols and data formats for self-organizing digital network of stations in "Network/Data Layer Messaging Protocols for Stand-Alone, Free-Field Communications Systems". Lindsay Robertson, ZL2LJR, in the May/June 2007 Issue of QEX magazine .
Tags: sensor networks, self organizing network. Comments: 0.

Low Energy Nuclear Reactions Chemically Assisted Nuclear Reactions

Posted by Bob Paddock: This site features a library of papers on Low Energy Nuclear Reactions (LENR), which are also known as Chemically Assisted Nuclear Reactions (CANR). See also: IEEE Spectrum September 2004. This technology is what is distended to replace the older Radioisotope Heater Units (RHU), as long term, low power, power sources. "Cold Fusion" without the
Tags: low energy nuclear reactions, chemically assisted nuclear. Comments: 0.

Researchers apply energy harvesting to portable devices

Posted by Bob Paddock: " Energy harvesting will be a key topic at the 2007 NanoPower Forum to be held in San Jose, Calif., June 4-6 . ... Depending on the application, energy harvesting devices will provide either primary or supplemental power in a growing number of portable devices within the next several years..." Source: Video Designline , full article:
Tags: energy harvesting, portable devices. Comments: 0.

Linux powers $50 wireless mesh router

Posted by Bob Paddock: " Meraki offers its Linux-based "Mini" mesh router for $50, and expects to ship a $100 outdoor model later this month. Volume discounts are also available, with a 100-unit "large building and districts" package going for $4,900, according to the company. The Meraki routers can be used singly, but are really designed for installation in clusters,
Tags: mesh router, cluster. Comments: 0.

Using Bluetooth to build a wireless data logger for your industrial application

Posted by Bob Paddock: " This article discusses the design of a Bluetooth data logger that takes data from an AS1530 12bit ADC via an MCU and a Bluetooth link to a PC, which collects the data in a spreadsheet." Source: embedded.com
Tags: bluetooth, data logger. Comments: 1.

Smart Sensors with Wireless Networks for Applications in Hazardous Work Environments published

Posted by Bob Paddock: Our paper, "A Technology Review of Smart Sensors with Wireless Networks for Applications in Hazardous Work Environments" , started in early 2005. It was finally published on April 1st 2007. Why did it take two years to see the light of day The approvals were lost in the bureaucratic never-never land then finally found. Next, the paper was
Tags: sensor networks, wireless networks. Comments: 0.