Integrating a multisensor mobile system in the grid infrastructure

Abstract

This document presents a mobile floating autonomous platform supporting an extensive set of sensors, with depth profiling capabilities and ease of deployment at any place within a water reservoir limits in a short time; and its integration in the existing grid infrastructure. The platform equipment is remotely operable and provides real-time access to the measured data. With the integration in the existing Grid infrastructure, by means of the infrastructure and middleware provided by the DORII project, a remote operator can not only control the platform system but also use the produced data as soon as it is recorded in desired simulations and analysis. The instrumentation is installed in a mobile floating autonomous platform acontaining a power provider system (consisting of a pair of solar panels and a wind turbine, along with a series of deep-cycle batteries), a set of surface sensors, and a set of water quality sensors integrated in a compact underwater cage, connected with a steel cable to a winch system situated at the platform surface, providingwater column profiling capabilities. All the underwater sensors (plus one of the surface sensors) are locally controlled by a datalogger device which has capabilities for storing up to 14 days worth of sampling data, constituting a first layer of data security backup. An onboard computer serves as datalogger for the rest of the sensors and as a second layer data backup. Communication with the land station is managed via a WiFi point to point link, using standard consumer directional antennas on both sides of the link. With this configuration distances of over 20 km are possible. In the land station, a server hosts both the primary database where the platform computer stores all sensor data (replicated at a second location, for additional data redundancy) and the Instrument Element (IE) middleware that integrates the whole monitoring system in the Grid infrastructure and provides remote access to the data and controlling capabilities through the Virtual Control Room (VCR). From within the VCR an operator is able not only to control and configure the behaviour of the sensors and access the recorded data in real-time, but also to employ this data in analysis jobs executing in the high availability Grid environment.