SEMINAR: Distributed Sensing for Mechanical and Biomedical Systems

Abstract

Sensor technologies are the foundation of all “smart” technologies, e.g. mobile health, robotics, smart grid, environmental monitoring, structural health monitoring, etc. A major challenge for sensor research is to achieve densely distributed, wireless, low power consumption sensor networks. This talk presents the study of microwave patch antenna sensors to address this challenge. We discovered that a microstrip patch antenna can be designed to sense various physical parameters, including strain, pressure, shear, and crack etc. Since the patch antenna also serves as a data transmission device, battery-less wireless interrogation of the antenna sensors can be achieved.  In addition, frequency-division multiplexing can be exploited to simultaneously interrogate multi-element sensor arrays. These unique characteristics make the microwave antenna sensor an attractive candidate for densely distributed wireless sensor networks. The operating principles of the antenna sensors will be explained first, followed by the discussions of two wireless interrogation schemes. Recent progresses on studying the wireless sensors for condition monitoring in harsh environment will be presented.

Bio

Dr. Haiying Huang is a professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Texas Arlington. She graduated from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (BUAA) with a bachelor degree in 1991 and received a PhD degree in Aerospace Engineering in 1998 and a master degree in Electrical Engineering in 1997; both from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Prof. Huang has published more than 100 journal and conference papers and has 9 patents granted. She is a recipient of the 2009 NSF CAREER award and the 2007 Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship. Prof. Huang is a member of the ASME, IEEE, and a lifetime member of AIAA and SPIE.