| A novel Integrated System Health Management (ISHM) module is being developed which supports the development of intelligent sensors as part of an integrated systems approach, i.e. one treats the sensor as a complete system with its own sensing hardware (the traditional sensor), A/D converters, processing and storage capabilities, software drivers, self-assessment algorithms, communication protocols and evolutionary methodologies that allow it to get better with time. As a part of a project being undertaken at NASA's Stennis Space Center (SSC), an integrated framework is being developed for the intelligent monitoring of smart elements. These smart elements can be sensors, actuators or other devices. The immediate application is the monitoring of the rocket test stands at SSC, but the technology should be generally applicable to the ISHM vision. This thesis work outlines the progress made in the development of intelligent sensors by describing the work done to date on the Physical Intelligent Sensors (PIS). In this thesis work a traditional temperature sensor is converted into a Smart Networked Temperature Sensor (SNTS) for monitoring the temperature of the liquid oxygen tank on the SSC rocket test stand. (Abstract shortened by UMI.). |
