Chemicals detection and quantification is extremely important for ensuring safety and security in multiple application domains like smart environments, building automation, etc.. Characteristics of chemical signal propagation make single point of measure approach mostly inefficient. Distributed chemical sensing with wireless platforms may be the key for reconstructing chemical images of sensed environment but its development is currently hampered by technological limits on solid state sensors

more »

... wer management. We present the implementation of power saving sensor censoring strategies on a novel wireless electronic nose platform specifically designed for cooperative chemical sensing and based on TinyOS. An on-board sensor fusion component complement its software architecture with the capability of locally estimate air quality and chemicals concentrations. Each node is hence capable to decide the informative content of sampled data extending the operative lifespan of the entire network. Actual power savings are modeled and estimated with a measurement approach in experimental scenarios. Index Terms-Wireless Chemical Sensing, Electronic noses, Sensor censoring, Power saving. Recently researchers began to tackle these scenarios with novel approaches that refer to two main classes. A first approach is based on the use of a moving detector. Together with appropriate modeling information these detectors can follow random paths exploring a particular environment before being hit by a chemical plume [3] [4] . After that, by using chemical spills search algorithms, often biomimetic, they try to detect the source of contamination (source declaration problem). The other approach, basically rely on the use of multiple, low cost and autonomous distributed fixed detectors, that try to cooperate in reconstructing a chemical image of the sensed environment [1] [5] [6] [7] . Both approaches could maximize probabilities to detect and quantify appropriately the presence of hazardeous or toxic gas in environment with different specificities. Advantages of distributed approach are identifiable in flexibility, scalability, enhanced signal to noise ratio, robustness and self healing. Several sensors node can be placed in different locations, each one with its own characteristics in terms of environmental conditions (air flow, temperature, humidity, different gas concentration, etc.) contributing to describe more thoroughly the environment in which they are embedded. Each smart chemical sensor, composing the distributed architecture has its own communication capabilities and its information is available for