A new principle for environment resistant integrated anemometers

Abstract

Development of compact, inexpensive and low power sensors is the key step towards the application of wireless sensor networks in real scenarios. In this work we propose a new approach for monitoring wind direction and speed using integrated flow meters, included into a protecting cylinder. An original channel geometry drilled through the cylinder produces a flow that depends on the wind direction according to a cosine law, facilitating wind direction estimation. The effectiveness of the approach is proven by means of measurements performed on a prototype. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.