On the Use of Wireless Technologies for Shipboard Monitoring Systems

Current shipboard monitoring systems use extensive lengths of cables to connect sensors to control units. Replacing wired connections by wireless ones may be an efficient solution to reduce the ship weight and cost. Ships are characterized by a specific metallic environment which can severely decrease the efficiency of wireless networks due to signal attenuation and multipath effects. In this paper, we present a feasibility study of a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) using ubiquitous technologies on board vessels. A measurement campaign has been conducted on board a ferry to investigate the radio propagation challenges of wireless communications in this particular environment. Path loss models have been obtained for typical shipboard environments. Engineering rules concerning the placement and the number of communication nodes needed to cover the decks and maintain the network connectivity have been determined. Based on these results, an IEEE 802.15.4 compliant WSN has been tested on board the same ferry. Sensor nodes have been placed on the four decks of the ferry and the base station has been placed in the control room located in the bottom deck. Results show an excellent performance with respect to transmission ratio of sensor nodes and a significant connectivity between nodes located in different compartments and decks separated by metallic watertight doors.