This is a planning grant that focuses on an embedded middleware development tool for sensor networks that is based on a research prototype recently developed by this team at Purdue University.
For this planning grant the project team proposes to expand their existing sensor capability by purchasing a larger sensor network test-bed to validate software development tools for run-time error monitoring and diagnosis. In addition, the project will enable an application case study for carbon dioxide monitoring for indoor circulation systems.
Sensor nodes typically are highly vulnerable to hardware breakdowns when deployed in harsh conditions. Because of their ad hoc and dynamic nature, the communication protocols of networked embedded systems tend to be complex and frequently error-prone. In addition, these networks experience: components and communication links that are exposed to potential adversaries and hence are under security threats such as node capture, denial of service, and malicious code injection; constrained resources such as storage, bandwidth, computing power and energy; and, even though they may be correctly designed, network protocols may be implemented incorrectly due to programming errors.
The goal of this project is to permit the broad research community of Networked Embedded Systems (NES) to use the robust programming tool proposed with this project for run-time error monitoring and diagnosis. The tool will target the problem that errors can occur in any of the many components of a sensor network and those errors need to be detected quickly and effectively.
