ABSTRACT
This chapter considers systems that are permanently installed and require no human intervention in the measurement and recording of signals, i.e., embedded sensors, networks and data logging. In the context of structure monitoring, this is often referred to as structural health monitoring or as embedded nondestructive evaluation (NDE). The chapter concentrates on the components of the list, since these must be embedded in the asset being monitored, whereas the other components can be managed externally to the asset. All of the components of a monitoring system listed in the introduction could be onboard and operated in real time, particularly if immediate response to measured events is required. The use of a microcontroller on the sensor interface (SI) greatly simplifies the interfacing with the communications bus and the hardware for interfacing with the sensor. Any implementation of an SI requires software to interface with the network and software to perform and store the measurements and to possibly process the data.
