Question 1
Q1A manufacturing plant is deploying a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) to monitor vibration on rotating machinery in a highly metallic environment. The sensors are battery-powered and must operate for 5 years without maintenance. The environment has significant multipath propagation issues. Which modulation technique would provide the highest resilience against multipath fading while maintaining low power consumption for this specific environment?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Chirp Spread Spectrum (CSS) uses wideband linear frequency modulated chirp pulses to encode information. This technique is inherently resistant to multipath fading and Doppler effect, making it ideal for harsh industrial environments with metallic obstructions. ASK is highly susceptible to noise and fading. OFDM is robust but typically requires higher power and processing overhead than CSS for simple sensor networks. FSK is robust but less resilient to severe multipath than CSS in this context.