OpenWSN

Derek Meer

Overview

• Introduction
• Actual Work

What's a WSN?

So why should we care?

• The "IoT"
• Hot research area
• It's...pretty cool, I guess?

How do I build one?

• Develop Hardware (the actual node)
• Develop Firmware (code that makes the nodes work)
• Develop Software (node - computer - user interface)

OpenWSN

• Established Protocols
• Software Interface
• Hardware Examples

What I did this semester

Hardware

Firmware

Wait, did you design the hardware yourself?

Nope, but I helped.

Main Hardware Design considerations

• Price
• Battery Life
• Modularity
• Reliability

So how much does it cost?

• Microcontroller [ATxmega128A4U]: $3.42
• RF Transceiver [AT86RF232]: $1.91
• Board Manufacturing [OshPark]: $4.05
• Silicon Serial Number: $1.57
• Miscellaneous (LEDs, Resistors/Capacitors, etc.): $7.02
• Total: $17.97 
• Add a few dollars for shipping: ~$25 per node

Over $15 less than the next cheapest option!

The Hardware

The Firmware

The Future

• Finish / test the first iteration
• Create a second, improved iteration
• Add sensor modules to the board
• Submit a pull request to the OpenWSN repo
• Create a page on the OpenWSN Wiki

Thanks to...

• Moorthy
• Goldschmidt
• Sean O'Sullivan
• RCOS
• ...and the OpenWSN folks

Questions?

• OpenWSN page: https://openwsn.atlassian.net/wiki/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=688187
• Take ECSE-4500 (Distributed Systems and Sensor Networks)
• Contact me: meerd@rpi.edu

Extras: Y U NO WI-FI?

• Requires more power (bad)
• No need for high bandwidth
• 802.15.4 is specifically designed for WSNs
• Nothing available that suited my needs