A Wireless Sensor and Actuator Network for improving the electrical power grid dependability

This paper presents an overview of a Wireless Sensor and Actuator Network (WSAN) used to monitor an electrical power grid distribution infrastructure. The WSAN employs appropriate sensors to monitor key grid components, integrating both safety and security services, which improve the grid distribution dependability. The supported applications include, among others, video surveillance of remote secondary substations, which imposes special requirements from the point of view of quality of service and reliability. The paper presents the hardware and software architecture of the system together with performance results.