Different Encryption Standards

Discuss About The Retrieved From Energy Harvesting Wireless?

It employs 128-bit keys and a 48-bit initialization vector which minimizes replay attacks vulnerability (Syed A. Ahson, Ocober 2012). Counter Mode with Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication Code Protocol provides data privacy, authentication, and integrity. CCMP encryption standard may need more advanced hardware since it requires extra processing power.

Triple data encryption standard uses three keys that are different each with a length of 56-bit. The three keys often cause the performance to be slow in most software, and therefore the Triple Data Encryption Standard is getting obsolete with time.

Advanced Encryption Standard supports 128-bit, 192-bit and 256-bit encryption keys (Jeffrey G. Andrews A. G., 2011). It is, therefore, faster than Triple Data Encryption Standard which uses 56-bit encryption keys. Advanced Encryption Standard uses less memory and is easily implemented. However, Advanced Encryption Standard is not used by all end-user terminal keeping Triple Data Encryption Standard still in use (Alejandro Aragn, September 5, 2017).

Bluetooth Wireless, Personal Area Networks, are vulnerable to eavesdropping (Kevin Townsend, May 22, 2014). An attacker may make an independent connection with the involved victims and send messages between the two in a way that makes them think they are only communicating with each other on the private connection (Heydon, November 7, 2012).

ZigBee’s security layer is built on the Residential mode security mode which uses a single key for all the personal Area Network in all the connected applications (Faludi, January 3, 2011). The main security vulnerability in this mode is the lack of a security protection of packets from a suspected malicious node within the network.

Wireless communication industry has massively continued to grow as more embrace the technology and its elegance. However, the full functionality of wireless networks used to relay the communicated information is primarily dependent on energy. It has been a challenge providing energy to all the devices used to set up a working wireless communication system due to the impossibilities of replacing batteries in some of the devices used and the cost of the replacements when possible (Sheikh, 2017). Some devices may be placed in locations that cannot be easily accessed when there is need to replace the battery while some locations may not have electricity at all.

Energy harvest is an excellent solution to the challenges stated above. Using energy from the surrounding environments such as the wind and solar energy may solve all the energy problems. Most devices will be placed in places where there is at least one environmental source of energy that can be used and cater for all the energy-related problems that the device would have heard (Ulukus, et al., 2015).

Security Challenges for WPAN Technologies

Even though there are some challenges that still need to be addressed to be able to develop energy harvesting systems that are efficient, cost-effective, and reliable for the wireless sensor network environment, the energy harvesting technique remains a great invention that needs to be more researched and implemented.

Wireless sensor network devices that operate in the atmosphere will have a great benefit not need electricity. It is naturally hard to get to the devices that have been set to operate from the atmosphere. If energy harvesting is done, the device will minimize downtimes by having enough power all the time without the need for anybody going there. Some of these networking devices are managed remotely. For the devices managed remotely, there will be no need for visiting the precise location of the device since the power may be sufficient for a long period.

Other wireless sensor network devices use electricity and will also benefit from the energy harvesting. Devices that do not use batteries need electricity that flows without disruptions. Most companies offering electricity to companies and organizations with these devices do not guarantee electricity flow all the time of day all days (Alireza Khaligh, December 2010). At times, it happens that there are blackouts that will affect the working of the devices and tamper with the communication services. The Energy from the harvest sources would not guarantee full-time energy, but at least there would be no disconnection time when the source of power is more than one. After advancements, the power would possibly be enough, and the devices would only rely on the harvested energy.

Wireless networks have recently been the adopted by most systems that use networks to communicate. The operation of the wireless network provides for efficient systems that are independent of location barriers and structure of the buildings in the company. Recent applications of the wireless network include networks used for environmental monitoring, networks used for controlling and tracking animals and those used for Safety, security, and military applications. Others are used to manage health applications and built environments.

All the wireless sensor networks have nodes with a structure that has a memory module, communication module and the processor. Each module requires power to work. It will be easy to work with the system when the power comes from a system within the wireless sensor network device. The implementation of the energy harvester involves adding a module that harvests the ambient energy and another one that manages the generated energy. Some energy is kept in the store while some are directly used.

Reflection on the Topic of Energy Harvesting

When the energy source is not available, for instance, the wind is not flowing, and the energy harvester was using the wind, the system will use the stored power. The power works sufficiently since no power is consumed from the store when the harvester can harvest. This makes the system work at all time provided the environmental factor used to generate the energy will be available at some time before the energy in the store is exhausted.

It is easy to manage the energy harvested since it is possible to improve the amount harvested by a given harvester and store the energy in bigger stores that will carry enough power to use for all the period the environmental resource being used to generate the energy may be unavailable. This will help increase the efficiency and availability of the system.

Most of the WSN devices that support energy harvesting work based on the piezoelectric, electrostatic effects and electromagnetic effects. The systems basically try to convert vibrations into electric energy. One system uses a mass-spring while the other is mechanical to electrical converter. The mass-spring system is responsible for transforming vibration received from the environmental resource in use to generate motion between two elements that are connected to a single axis. On the other hand, the mechanical to electrical converter takes in the relative motion generated and transforms it into electrical energy. The system does this by exploiting one of the three effects stated above.

The mechanical to electrical converter working by exploitation of the Piezoelectric effect generate electric potential after twisting, compressing or distorting some piezoelectric crystals. The piezoelectric material causes deforms the internal structure of the molecules shifting charge centers from positive to negative and vice versa when put under external forces such as compression or twisting (Lu, 2015). The shift produces some microscopic polarization to the material. The polarization produced is normally directly proportional to the applied force.

The polarization results into a potential difference across the material that generates an Alternating Current. The Alternating current generated is converted to the required Direct Current through the use of a diode rectifier.

The mechanical to electrical converter working by electromagnetic effect is ruled by Lenz’s law such that any change in the magnetic condition of the involved coils outputs an electromotive force. The electromotive force generated induces some voltage to the coil in use. Relating to the system above, the magnet acts as the mass in the spring system producing some parallel movement to the coil axis (Mathna, 2012). The parallel movement induces an Alternating Current in the secondary coil which produces the required energy for powering our device.

The mechanical to electrical converter working by kinetic energy also operates just like the previous systems working by vibrations. The turbine in use normally converts the flow of the wind or the water being used for rotational movements working on the windmill or turbine in use (Chetwynd, 2010). The movement of the turbine or the windmill is used to drive an electromagnetic generator that generates the energy required as explained in the systems above.

References

Alejandro Aragn, A. Z. (September 5, 2017). Indoor Wireless Communications: From Theory to Implementation 1st Edition. Wiley;.

Alireza Khaligh, O. C. (December 2010). Energy Harvesting: Solar, Wind, and Ocean Energy Conversion Systems (Energy, Power Electronics, and Machines) 1st Edition. CRC Press.

Chetwynd, M. M. (2010). Investigation of a resonance microgenerator. Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, 12-17.

Faludi, R. (January 3, 2011). Building Wireless Sensor Networks: with ZigBee, XBee, Arduino, and Processing 1st Edition. O’Reilly Media.

Heydon, R. (November 7, 2012). Bluetooth Low Energy: The Developer’s Handbook 1st Edition. Prentice Hall; 1 edition .

Jeffrey G. Andrews, A. G. (2011). Fundamentals of WiMAX: Understanding Broadband Wireless Networking 3rd Edition. Prentice Hall.

Kevin Townsend, C. C. (May 22, 2014). Getting Started with Bluetooth Low Energy: Tools and Techniques for Low-Power Networking 1st Edition. O’Reilly Media.

Lu, X. (2015). Wireless Networks With RF Energy Harvesting: A Contemporary Survey. Communications Surveys Tutorials, 33-37.

Mathna, C. (2012). Energy scavenging for long-term deployable wireless sensor networks. Talanta .

Sheikh, F. K. (2017, 02 25). Econpapers. Retrieved from Energy harvesting in wireless sensor networks: A comprehensive review: https://econpapers.repec.org/article/eeerensus/v_3a55_3ay_3a2016_3ai_3ac_3ap_3a1041-1054.htm

Syed A. Ahson, M. I. (Ocober 2012). WiMAX: Technologies, Performance Analysis, and QoS (WiMAX Handbook) 2nd Edition. CRC Press;.

Ulukus, S., Yener, A., Erkip, E., Simeone, O., Zorzi, M., Grover, P., & Huang, K. (2015, January 15). Energy Harvesting Wireless Communications: A Review of Recent Advances. Retrieved from IEEE Xplore Digital library: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7010878/