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On the Use of Reconfigurable
Hardware in Sensor System Integration for
Airliner Cabin Environment Research
Sin Ming LooFAA Center of Excellence for Airliner Cabin Environment Research
Boise State UniversityBoise, Idaho 83725
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Outline
Airliner Cabin EnvironmentHealth Issues and AirlinerCoE Airliner Cabin Environment ResearchReconfigurable Sensor System BackboneChallengesConclusions & On-going Work
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Cabin Environment
Airline passengers encounter environmental factors that include
Potential exposure to contaminantsO3, CO, CO2
PesticidesVarious organic chemicalsBiological agents
Close proximityLow humidityReduced air pressure
Health effects?Ticket to ride Spreading germs a mile high
?
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Health Issues and Airliner
Many reported sickness after flying Including passengers and flight crew
Is there a link?No data collected can conclusively says that there is a linkDue to technique used to collect and
interpret data
NRC’s 2002 report - “The Airliner Cabin Environment and the Health of Passengers and Crew”
Concludes that more systematic long-term airliner cabin monitoring and research are required
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So, why don’t I feel right after
flying?
Humidity10% to 20%
Temperature < 20 C
Close proximitySardine!
PressurizationCabin pressure at altitude up to 8000 ft (2,440 m)
Partial oxygen levelStress of flying
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Operating Environment
Taxiing Takeoff Cruise DescentTemperature
-55C to 50C
Pressure10.1 kPa to 101 kPa
AltitudeSea level to 36,000 ft (typical cruising altitude)
Extreme range of operating environmentsSo, how am I being kept alive?
Environmental Control System - provide a suitable indoor environment
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Environmental Control Systems
RoleVentilate and pressurize the cabin
Prevent rapid changes in cabin pressure
Minimize concentrations of contaminants
Typically, large commercial aircraft (>100 passengers) re-circulate about 50% of cabin airRe-circulated air passes through high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters
Not mandated by FAA85% of aircraft (>100 passengers) are equipped with HEPA filters
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Bleed Air
Reference: United States General Accounting Office, Aviation Safety: More Research Needed to the Effects of Air Quality on Airliner Cabin Occupants, GAO-04-54, January 2005.
Reference: United States General Accounting Office, Aviation Safety: More Research Needed to the Effects of Air Quality on Airliner Cabin Occupants, GAO-04-54, January 2005.
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Source of Contaminants
At cruising altitude, the air is quite pureSource of contaminants
You and I!Industrial and urban sourcesAir supply systems
Leaking hydraulic fluidSpilled fuelDeicing fluid
Intentional agent release
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CoE ACER
FAA established the Center of Excellence for Airliner Cabin Environment Research (http://acer-coe.org) in 2004 ACER consists of an eight-institution team:
Auburn UniversityPurdue UniversityHarvard UniversityBoise State UniversityKansas State UniversityLawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryThe University of California BerkeleyThe University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
ACER conducts a comprehensive and integrated program of research and development on the cabin environment
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Airliner Cabin & FPGA?
Why does the FPGA have anything to do with airliner cabin environment
research?
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ACER Needs a…
Sensor backbone:FlexibleScalableInterfaceable to analog- and digital-based sensorsRemovable storageWireless
SolutionCombination of FPGA and microcontroller
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Wireless Sensor Network
Base stations with m remote stationsRemote Station
.
.
.
S0S0
Wire
less
Wire
less
S1S1 S2S2 S3S3
S4S4 Sn-3Sn-3 Sn-2Sn-2 Sn-1Sn-1
RH
Wire
less
Wire
less
RH/C
Indicator
Interface Interface
SD Flash SD Flash
Base Station
S0S0
Wire
less
Wire
less
S1S1 S2S2 S3S3
S4S4 Sn-3Sn-3 Sn-2Sn-2 Sn-1Sn-1
RH
Sensor Peripheral Board
Remote station interface to n sensorsSensor peripheral unit
AnalogDigital
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Base Station
Xilinx FPGA with Microblaze core802.11b compatible Wireless TransceiverSecure digital flash memoryExtra I/O for future interfaceReal-time clockBattery power
Wire
less
Wire
less
RH/C
Indicator
Interface Interface
SD Flash SD Flash
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Remote Station
Xilinx FPGA with Microblaze core802.11b compatible wireless transceiverLots of I/Os for sensorsReal-time clockBattery powerI2C
.
.
.
S0S0
Wire
less
Wire
less
S1S1 S2S2 S3S3
S4S4 Sn-3Sn-3 Sn-2Sn-2 Sn-1Sn-1
RH
S0S0
Wire
less
Wire
less
S1S1 S2S2 S3S3
S4S4 Sn-3Sn-3 Sn-2Sn-2 Sn-1Sn-1
RH
3”
4.5”
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Sensor Peripheral
BoardLow cost microcontroller is used to ease the task of interfacing to analog or digital sensorThis board:
MicrocontrollerAnalog portsDigital ports
Small prototype area
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Wireless Transceiver
WiFi to be used for data collection by base station
802.11b, 2.4GHzCheck out http://ww.connexion.com
Wireless moduleAerocomm AC5124C-10A
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Sensor Interface Prototype
SensorsNational Temperature SensorHumirel Relative Humidity SensorMotorola Pressure SensorFIS Gas Sensor VOCsFIS Gas Sensor Carbon MonoxideFIS Ozone SensorFIS Gas Sensor Combustion Gas
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Challenges
Analog/digital sensor interfaceData storage
Raw data?Scalable number of sensorsMinimize the electronic characterization (certification) required for in-cabin usage
FCC and FAA standardsPower consumption/interface
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Conclusions & On-going Work
Provided an introduction to airliner cabin environment researchPresented a design of an Ad-hoc wireless sensor network with backbone capable of interfacing with large numbers of sensorsAnalysis of the quality of wireless signals in the aircraft cabin
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AcknowledgementThis work is funded by FAA Cooperative
Agreement No. 04-C-ACE-BSU.
DisclaimerAlthough the FAA has sponsored this
project, it neither endorses nor rejects the findings of this research. The
presentation of this information is in the interest of invoking technical community comment on the results and conclusions of
the research.