Boost Your PLC System: Wireless Monitoring Print

his article is part of the 7 Ways to Boost Your PLC System white paper series.

Wireless measurement and monitoring systems provide an opportunity to reduce installation and system costs, increase flexibility, simplify system deployments, and address a new set of applications that were previously challenging or even impossible with a wired solution.  With the NI wireless sensor network (WSN) platform, you can easily add wireless monitoring to your existing programmable automation controller (PAC) system. Using NI LabVIEW software, you can develop a single acquisition, analysis, and control program to integrate wired and wireless measurement data.

 

New Technology for Wireless Monitoring

The NI wireless sensor network (WSN) platform delivers battery-powered nodes that offer industrial certifications, reliable networking protocols, and optional outdoor enclosures for long-term, stand-alone deployments. You can take advantage of LabVIEW software integration with NI WSNs to select between Windows and LabVIEW Real-Time OSs and simplify the extraction of high-quality measurement data.

Figure 1. NI Wireless Sensor Network System Architecture

Each WSN gateway can communicate with up to 36 wireless measurement nodes and can be easily added to your existing measurement and control system through Ethernet. The NI 9792 programmable WSN gateway offers a high-performance PPC processor, 2 GB of onboard storage, an integrated Web server for remote data access, and dual Ethernet ports for communication with other network devices. NI WSN measurement nodes can operate for up to three years on battery power and can communicate over distances up to 300 m. Each node provides direct sensor connectivity and -40 to 70 °C operating temperature.

With the programmable version of NI WSN nodes, you can use graphical programming to customize the node’s behavior by adding intelligence to extend battery life; increase analog and digital input performance; perform local control, analysis, and data reduction; and interface with custom sensors. You can download LabVIEW WSN applications wirelessly to run on programmable NI WSN measurement nodes, allowing seamless updates to deployed nodes.

Using an NI wireless sensor network system, you can perform long-term data logging to complement your wired measurement and control system.

Case Study: Monitoring a 12th Century Historic Church with NI Wireless Sensor Networks and LabVIEW

The Santa María la Real Foundation in Aguilar de Campoo, Spain, developed a restoration project for the Santa María de Mave Church and its monastery, which date back to the 12th century. After remodeling was completed for the historic church, the foundation recognized the need for continued monitoring to preserve the monument and proactively protect the church from environmental decay.

Figure 2. Measurement Node

As a result, the group developed a program for monitoring the environmental parameters in the church, including the following:

  • Air temperature and relative humidity at 17 locations within the nave of the church
  • Air temperature and relative humidity on the church's exterior
  • Data acquisition from a compact meteorological station located in the upper part of the church
  • Measurement of structural vibrations

Using LabVIEW and NI WSN technology, the team easily implemented a monitoring system for a 12th century historic site. The flexibility to place the measurement systems in various locations while using multiple strategies and the ability to connect to a large variety of sensors was a great advantage.

Read the full case study

Additional Case Studies

How to Boost Your PLC System

Wireless technology is extending applications to new areas where cables are inconvenient or uneconomical, such as environmental, power, and machine condition monitoring. View the following resources to learn more about NI WSN technology or to get started with NI WSN products:

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