(SRNL: Aiken, S.C.) -- Several industries use wireless sensors, which can monitor chemical processes or equipment activity and then transmit the data over a wireless network. Still, many facilities that could benefit from the use of wireless sensors must continue to use a wired network instead because the reliability, speed, and security of the current generation of wireless sensors do not meet their needs.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) and U.S. automakers now have teamed up to develop a new high-performance platform for these sensors that not only serves the industry’s needs, but also meets the DOE National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) requirements for security and reliability for use in its facilities.

SRNL has entered into a cooperative research and development agreement with the U.S. Council for Automotive Research LLC (USCAR), the collaborative automotive technology organization for Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Co., and General Motors Corp. The purpose of the collaboration is to develop a new platform for short-range wireless-sensor networks that meets the NNSA requirements, and can also be adopted as the industry standard.

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