Project Proposed: This project, developing a multi-purpose wireless sensor networking instrument, supports the specific experimental research needs of cross-layer protocols for heterogeneous sensor networks and key applications such as search and rescue by swarms of robots, buildings structure health monitoring, and hand and patient motion tracking. The instrument enables - Research and education for developing and experimenting with protocols and algorithms for a future generation of wireless sensor networks, - Cross-cutting research and education in application areas of key interest to the society and the institution. This work enhances the support of existing mechanisms of today's wireless sensor networks such as security, energy efficiency, and reliability by using a more capable second systems on chips at an order of magnitude lower cost and within a significantly smaller package than today's solution. Additionally, inexistent capabilities that enable research are designed and integrated in the target multi-disciplinary application areas; these include: - Directional antennas for localization, and interference-cancellation, using a combination of low-cost mechanical and electronic beam-forming techniques (outperforming purely electronic smart antennas). This improves communication capacity and robustness against unintentional and malicious interference. It will be fitted on mobile robots and combined with ultra-sound transceivers for faster localization of transmission sources in search and rescue missions. - Ultralow-power with multi-radio support including wakeup-radios, enabling asymmetric communication architectures, and allowing deployed sensor nodes to last for over a decade without battery changes. - Nodes hardware, software, and network design architected for ease of composability to quickly integrate specific hardware components of new applications such as wideband reduces personnel in the development microelectronic mechanical systems (MEMS) ultrasound transceivers, MEMS accelerometers, flash storage, and also interfaces with a variety of robots and off-the-shelf components (e.g., miniSD GPS). Broader Impacts: This project fosters a wider use of wireless sensor networks in application areas of national importance, namely, emergency preparedness and health science. All the instrument components are open-sourced including the schematics, printed circuit board (PCB) layouts, and software with adequate documentation, thus enabling other institutions to easily extend and build copies of the instrument at low cost. The work fosters the development of the next generation application-driven wireless sensor networks widening the use of such networks both in research and education. Several education kits and evaluation systems will be made available to other academic groups. Dissemination workshops will also be organized for application and module developers. The instrument will be used in several multi-disciplinary courses bridging CS, EE, ME, and CE.
The project focussed on developing a multi-purpose wireless sensor networking instrument that supports the specific experimental research needs of key applications such as body networks for patients monitoring, and physical infrastructure monitoring (e.g., tunnels, and bridges). The instrument enables (1) research and education for developing and experimenting with protocols and algorithms for a future generation of wireless sensor networks, (2) cross-cutting research and education in application areas of key interest to Northeastern University and our society in general. As part of the instrument development, we designed, manufactured, and tested a Base Module, a Programming Module, a Gateway Module, a Mechanical/Electronic Beam forming Antenna, and an Accelerometer Module. The base module provides the most commonly required functionality in a wireless sensor node in a small package that allows easy extension. It is based on TI CC2530 SoC. The programming module allows a user to program the wireless sensor modules. The programming board can be invoked from a Windows PC using the Code::Blocks open source cross-platform integrated development environment. The programming board relies on the Silicon Labs C8051 chipset. The programming module connects to a PC using a USB link and to the wireless sensor nodes using a 3-wires cable. The gateway module allows the wireless sensor network to interface with Ethernet and WiFi net- works through off-the-shelf routers. Mechanical/Digital Beam Forming Antenna with the companion algorithms allows the reduction of unknown interference by a 48dB gain. Several undergraduate and graduate (doctoral and masters) students participated to the development of the instrument, and published research papers using the instrument. For example, the work on "Counter-Jamming using Mixed Mechanical and Software Interference Cancellation" co-authored with advisee Triet Vo-Huu was the runner-up best paper at ACM WiSec 2013.
