The PAR Logistics Solver Problem - Application and Multidisciplinary Aspects of Wireless Sensor Networks - page 261

When the vehicle returns to the base, all the data about the crossroads it visited
is stored in the vehicle's SunSPOT memory. When the signal from the base-station
is recognized, the data stored in the vehicle SunSPOT memory are transferred to
the base-station via a wireless link [ 2 ], [ 3 ]. They are then stored in the database on
the local computer connected to the base-station as raw data.
The raw data now need to be processed and displayed in a human-friendly format.
The processing is done with averaging algorithms and the displaying is done
through a graphical interface based on Java Swing [ 4 ].
Two displays are available. The daily statistics allow the user to see the cross-
roads visited during a specific date for a specific vehicle.
There are also the monthly statistics which show the average waiting time on a
crossroad for all the days of a selected month. An option to select multiple vehicles
is also available so the user can compare the times.

15.4 Potential Improvements

1. The logic of the base-station-vehicle should be updated with the client-server
type of connection to prevent conlicts of datagrams.
2. The accelerometer could be used for additional route analysis. It would measure
the number of starting and stopping of the vehicle. This information would be
useful since it can be connected to the fuel consumption and therefore help in
determining the optimal route.
3. Additional use of the accelerometer could be in accident diagnostics. When an
extreme acceleration occurs, one that the vehicle could not achieve in regular
conditions, a log would be created in the SunSPOT memory. The log would then
contain the time of the accident, and therefore prevent any fraud opportunities.

References

1. Sohraby K, Minoli D, Znati T (2007) Wireless sensor networks: technology, protocols, and
applications. Wiley, Hoboken, NJ
2. https://www.sunspotworld.com/forums/
3. SunSPOT Developer's Guide, SUN Microsystems (2009)
4. http://www.sun.com/