CSOnet: A Metropolitan Scale Wireless Sensor-Actuator Network

CSOnet is a sensor actuator network that monitors and controls the frequency of Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) events in city sewer systems. CSO events constitute a major health and environmental hazard which numerous U.S. cities have been attempting to address. This paper describes an ongoing project building a metropolitan scale CSOnet in the City of South Bend Indiana. Wireless sensor actuator networks or WSANs consist of computer controlled sensors and actuators that communicate over a wireless (usually RF) communication network. WSAN's use sensed data to power actuators which can then effect the sensed environment. The resulting changes in that environment can then be sensed by the network.