Abstract
A 3-D (cube-shaped) Lagrangian sensor, inkjet printed on a paper substrate, is presented for the first time. The sensor comprises a transmitter chip with a microcontroller completely embedded in the cube, along with a 1.5 lambda(0) dipole that is uniquely implemented on all the faces of the cube to achieve a near isotropic radiation pattern. The sensor has been designed to operate both in the air as well as water (half immersed) for real-time flood monitoring. The sensor weighs 1.8 gm and measures 13 mm x 13 mm x 13 mm, and each side of the cube corresponds to only 0.1 lambda(0) (at 2.4 GHz). The printed circuit board is also inkjet-printed on paper substrate to make the sensor light weight and buoyant. Issues related to the bending of inkjet-printed tracks and integration of the transmitter chip in the cube are discussed. The Lagrangian sensor is designed to operate in a wireless sensor network and field tests have confirmed that it can communicate up to a distance of 100m while in the air and up to 50m while half immersed in water.