The subject of the main RUNES demonstrator is a scenario describing the response to a road tunnel fire incident. Past experiences have shown that current safety systems are vulnerable mainly because traditional monitoring and control systems are not seamlessly integrated and they do not support redundancy for components that have failed or been destroyed. RUNES has developed an architecture that overcomes these problems by achieving system auto-configuration, reconfiguration, resilience to failure and operation over heterogeneous platforms.
A demonstration unit has been designed and built which has the capacity to show use of RUNES technology in response to a road tunnel fire. Use of hardware and software from the project are shown in operation, but in the context of the road tunnel fire, making the demonstration accessible to everyone with an interest in the potential of the technology. The unit was first used at the IST2006 exhibition in Helsinki, Finland which took place on 21-23 November 2006.
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Fig. 1 The tunnel model showing motes mounted at the front of the exhibit.
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Demonstrator unit
The demonstration is based around a scale model of a road tunnel. Six TMote Sky motes are used to act as the fixed infrastructural temperature sensors within the tunnel and a further four motes represent mobile temperature sensors deployed by the authorities during the course of the emergency. Due to considerations of scale these motes were mounted in front of the tunnel as can be seen in figure 1. Two screens were also used, one to show portions of the RUNES video which explains the scenario in some detail (downloadable from here), and one to demonstrate the status of the networks via a user interface (example shown in figure 2).
Sequence of events
The demonstrator follows a sequence of events resulting from the road tunnel fire. The detection of failures in the infrastructure, reconfiguration and deployment of components described in the scenes below do actually occur in the hardware and software and are reported via the user interface. Elevated temperatures could not be safely demonstrated, however, so temperature was modelled using light intensity. Lights adjacent to the sensor motes are used to produce high temperature readings.
- Normal operation
The tunnel is shown operating under normal conditions with the six temperature sensors connected via a wired infrastructure.
- Collision and fire
A collision occurs and a fire results. Elevated temperatures are detected by the sensors nearest the incident.
- Failure of the wired network
The fire causes damage to the wired network and the sensors reconfigure to connect wirelessly via a gateway developed as part of the project.
- Failure of sensors
Elevated temperatures cause the death of one or two wireless sensors. Mobile sensors (robots) are deployed to report conditions in the area where the fixed sensors have been destroyed.
- Mobile sensors incorporated into network
Four mobile sensors arrive at the scene and are automatically added to the network connecting to the fixed gateway used by the fixed sensors.
- Destruction of the fixed gateway
The intensity of the fire increases and the fixed gateway used by the sensor motes is destroyed. At least one of the robots carries a mobile gateway, this hardware also being developed as part of the project. The motes detect the loss of connectivity to the fixed gateway and reconfigure to the mobile gateway.
- Arrival of fire fighters
Fire fighters enter the tunnel. They deploy a middleware component on to the remaining sensor motes which enables them to receive data on temperature from all motes in their vicinity without the need to communicate via the mobile gateway.
- Data transfer to fire controller
The fire controller is in command of the fire fighters. He can obtain temperature data from the fire fighters, but not from the mobile gateway, and his data requirements may be different from those of the fire fighters. The fire controller therefore subscribes to a given temperature condition independent of the fire fighters needs, and receives notification of any sensor motes which register temperatures exceeding the subscribed condition.
Summary
The demonstration given was very successful, generating a great deal of interest at the exhibition and also many positive comments concerning how the potential realistic deployment of wireless motes was shown in such a practical way.
The RUNES project will now move on to development of a larger-scale version of the demonstration with greater functionality and potential.
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Fig. 2 UI showing deployment of mobile nodes after damage to the fixed infrastructure.
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Fig. 3 The RUNES demonstrator in action at the IST2006 exhibition in Helsinki.
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