MoteIST++: A Hardware Platform for Wireless Sensor Networks

Author(s):

  • José Miguel Catela, Instituto Superior Técnico, Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal

Source: M.Sc. Thesis, Instituto Superior Técnico / Technical University of Lisbon, November 2009

Citation:

Keywords: Wireless Sensor Networks, Motes, Modularity, Energy Management

Abstract:

Wireless Sensor Networks are currently a major research and application area within the branch of embedded systems. Each network device is made of several types of sensors/actuators, microcontrollers and radio interfaces. They are known by their small size and low energy consumption. The agglomerate of these devices is meant to be cheap even though capable of solving complex problems, since the basic platform (also known as a mote) is fairly simple.
These platforms are only available from a reduced number of manufacturers, at some fairly high costs. One of the main objectives of this project is the reduction of the costs associated to the research made with wireless sensor nodes.
Although some of these devices are well documented through open source hardware projects and serve most of the applications so far developed inside the Group of Embedded networked Systems and Heterogeneous Networks (GEMS), it is important to possess the know-how that allows the adaptation of the hardware to certain ends. The acquisition of such know-how, while maintaining the compatibility with the previously developed applications, is probably the main purpose of this work.
The last, but not less relevant, goal of this work is to study means that minimize the energy consumption of the motes, at the same time such energy consumption is evaluated. To reach so, two approaches will be taken: the first is the design of a wake-up radio solution and the second is the design of an energy management module which monitors the charge of the batteries in real time.

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