Smart Dust – Blend of Nano-Technology and Energy Management Technology

Introduction:

In one of the previous blogs, we talked about Molecular Communication which is inspired from the communication in the biological systems and uses the concept of Nano Technology for its designing.

Today we would be discussing about one more such technology which is one of the application of Nano Technology designs and that is Smart Dust. In Nano-technology, smart dust is an ad hoc network of tiny devices equipped with wireless micro-electromechanical sensors (MEMS). Smart Dust is also referred to as Smart Matter.

Definition:

Large amount of millimeter-scale self-contained micro-electromechanical devices that comprises of sensors, computational ability, bi-directional wireless communications technology and a power supply forms the Smart Dust.

These single devices are individually referred to as Motes. Thousands of these motes are collectively known as Smart Dust. Motes as tiny as  dust particles could be spread in the atmosphere of a place to monitor and collect data regarding the air quality, temperature and many other things. Smart Dust devices have found applications in almost everything from military to meteorological to medical fields.

Key Components:

The smart dust device contains following components:

1. Sensors
2. Photo detector receiver
3. Passive Transmitter with Corner-Cube Retro reflector
4. Active Transmitter with Laser Diode and Beam Steering
5. Analog Input / Output, Signal Processing (DSP or micro-controller) and control circuitry
6. Power Source from Solar Cells and thick film batteries.

Image Source: researchgate.net

mart dust motes are as tiny as dust particles. Hence, these motes are the perfect example of the devices using both evolutionary and revolutionary advances in miniaturization, integration and energy management technology. Micro-electromechanical systems have been used for designing the small sensors, optical communication components and power supplies. Microelectronics is used to provide great functionality with low power consumption.

Smart Dust Motes comprises of two types of transmission active and passive. The active transmission uses laser diode and steerable mirrors for device to device communication. Whereas the corner cube reflector is used in passive transmission for transmitting to Base Stations.

Working Principle of Smart Dust:

Each Smart Dust Motes comprises of microcontroller that determines the task to be performed by it and monitor power supply to various components of the system to conserve energy. Microcontroller reads the signals from one of the sensors which measure different physical or chemical stimuli like temperature, ambient light, vibration, acceleration or air pressure. On receiving the signal it processes the data and stores it in the memory.

The microcontroller also controls optical receiver to check for any communication signals by anyone. These communication signals consists of new programs or messages from other motes. In response to these messages or upon its own initiative, the microcontroller transmit the sensor data or a message to a base station or another mote using the corner cube retro reflector or laser.

See Also: Biotechnology: Journey from its Origin till Date – Infographic

Advantages of Smart Dust:

Smart Dust technology has many potential and actual benefits that can revolutionize a wide array of industries ranging from ecological research, inventory control within an organization, various functions within an urban area and the military.

1. It reduces the infrastructure and systems costs.
2. It helps employees to increase factory productivity.
3. It improves safety, efficiency and compliance in the workplace.
4. It gives the farmers a better management of time.
5. It helps in improving the fertilization management by considering the needs of crop.
6. It minimizes the amount of defective products that come off of assembly.
7. Other advantages are Equipment monitoring condition, asset monitoring, machine control and process monitoring and control.

Disadvantages of Smart Dust:

1. The biggest challenge being faced is of the privacy which needs to be handled properly.
2. It has caused adverse environmental problems in certain applications.
3. The sensors in the smart dust design are very costly and hence the cost of the systems goes high.
4. One potential disadvantage may arise if the companies use smart dust that draws energy from radioactive sources. Though the researchers confirm that it would not have any harmful effects but the employees may refuse to work.

Applications of Smart Dust:

1. Factory Automation and Chemical Plant – Smart Dust Motes could be places in the pipes of chemical plants to detect of possible corrosion happening in them or to check for accidental release of chemicals.

Smart Dust Motes could also be used in monitoring the temperature of server room, hence controls the functioning of air conditioners.

2. Environment and Habitat Monitoring – Smart Dust motes could also be built with sensors which could identify the pollution levels in the atmosphere. Smart dust motes could be dropped in the forest and the sensors would warn us of possible fires.
3. Industrial Sensing – Smart dust is used in industries where wired sensors could not be installed such as rotating machines and wind tunnels.
4. Transport Domain – Smart dust could be of great benefit in traffic surveillance and road sign recognition in the bad weather conditions. Smart dust motes can function as broadcaster and transmit signals to the car’s system to aware the driver of road sign ahead during bad weather and poor visibility.
5. Military Sensing – Smart dust could prove to be of help in keeping an eye on enemy movements in the inaccessible areas. They also check for the release of any poisonous and dangerous substances in the air.
6. Agriculture Sector – Smart Dust could be used in agriculture sector for monitoring the air temperature across the vineyard field. They can transmit alert signals on detecting the frost to protect them from any damage. The motes could also be built with sensors which can monitor and capture soil pH and salinity.

Conclusion:

The applications and benefits of smart dust technology is limitless. It could prove to be of great advantage in almost all spheres of life the human mind could think of. Many researches are going on basically to test the practicality of the applications and to make them as tiny as possible.