Wireless gas sensor network for the spatially resolved measurement of hazardous gases in case of a disaster

A sensor network with sensor nodes for the spatially resolved measurement of hazardous gases and the reconstruction of the gas distribution in case of a disaster is presented. After the distribution of the sensor nodes in a disaster environment, e.g. with unmanned ground vehicles or unmanned aircraft systems, the sensor nodes work autonomously. To establish a pollution map, showing for example hazardous gas distribution, three main tasks were carried out: the detection of toxic gases with gas sensors, the low-cost indoor localization of the sensor nodes and sensor data fusion and reconstruction of the distributed physical phenomenon. The aim is a complete decentralization where measurements and data evaluation take place in the network. We use ultrasonic time of flight measurements for indoor localization and a two-step method for the reconstruction of the gas distribution in a room.