Version 1.0 of LiteOS has just been released. Now offering complete support for Crossbow's popular IRIS Mote platform, several new features have been implemented. Key Features in Version 1.0 include:
Windows XP, Windows Vista and Linux Support
Support for MICAz and IRIS nodes
Plug-and play routing stack
Extremely lightweight event logging
Unix like commands to operate the entire sensor network
Multi-threading kernel
Write applications in C
Native wireless reprogramming
Built-in hierarchical file system
Extensive development libraries
Java tools to display and visualize data
Online debugging support, including variable watches and unlimited number of breakpoints
Elastic dynamic memory that has almost zero overhead
Snapshot a thread state or restore it to a previous state
Installer for quickly deploying the LiteOS operating system
Documentation to quickly get started with operating and programming
The goal of LiteOS is to simplify sensor network programming. For more information on this OS, click here.
What forces drive us and keep us going? What energy do we need to power us on? Energy is often defined as the ability to do work or to cause change. Power is defined as the rate of doing work or the rate of using energy. Energy has
always existed in one form or another, and sometimes in places we often overlook. While the world has focused on using radio waves for communication,
Powercast has focused on capturing radio waves to power devices.
Founded in 2003, Powercast developed an RF energy harvesting module with
breakthrough efficiency levels. Coupled with a transmitter that sends
RF energy using algorithms developed by Powercast, the Powercast
Wireless Power Platform™ was born. While the concept of sending power
“through the air” has been discussed for more than 100 years, Powercast
is the first company to make it commercially viable and harness energy in this form.
A Powercaster™ transmitter chip, running on conventional 110V pwer,
broadcasts a low-power radio (RF) signal at a specific frequency across inches or tens of meters of free space. Powerharvester™ receivers built into
one or more remote devices capture enough energy to continuously
recharge batteries, or to power devices directly. Patented algorithms more than double the effective range of
conventional RF power output. A patented receiver circuit design captures up to
70% of the theoretical maximum anywhere within the Powercaster’s range.
Powercast technology is designed for low power applications such as Crossbow's Mote platforms. Any device that uses a small battery (e.g. AAA,
AA, coin cell, thin-film) or capacitors and and can be placed near a transmitter either continuously
or even occasionally is a viable candidate. The radio energy received by the RF Powerharvester allows devices to be recharged even when not plugged into or docked with a charger.
During a recent visit to Crossbow Technology, Powercast representatives Charlie Greene (Chief Scientist) and Harry Ostaffe (Director of Marketing) demonstrated how Crossbow's popular IRIS Mote platform benefits from this type of power source (operating the IRIS Mote without batteries using RF energy at 900MHz). With its low power, low data rate design, the IRIS Mote is a perfect candidate for Powercast RF energy harvesting technology to harness the power sent via radio energy to extend its battery life through wireless recharging, essentially providing perpetual, lifetime power.
Powercast believes that repeated battery replacements is a major impediment to enabling wireless sensor networks to scale to hundreds or thousands of nodes and view their wireless power technology as the solution. Powercast is now leading the cross-industry initiative to bring wireless power to a hundreds of low power devices including wireless sensors. Powercast's FCC approved technology has been supplying commercial products within
the United States since the end of
2007.
Powercast is dedicated to provide RF energy harvesting and wireless power solutions that deliver milliWatts over tens of meters, Watts over centimeters. In comparison to other alternative
energy technologies, Powercast accomplishes power transmission in a
unique manner.Unlike pure ambient energy harvesting technologies like Piezo, solar or kinetic power, Powercast technology can be “always on”, or used in an on-demand or scheduled manner. Additionally, Powercast has the ability to deliver power through walls, ceilings and surfaces (rubber, plastic, plaster and wood).
The .NET Micro Framework is a platform that enables developers to more
quickly develop embedded systems that are smart, securely connected and
easier to manage. Jonathan Kagle, Microsoft's .NET Micro Framework
Senior Program Manager, introduces some of the hardware
developers are using in Micro Framework devices, including Crossbow's Imote2.Net Edition wireless sensor node platform on Engineering TV.
The Imote2.NET Edition (IPR2410) is built around the low-power PXA271 XScale processor and
integrates an 802.15.4 radio (CC2420) with a built-in 2.4GHz
antenna. The Imote2 IPR2410 is factory configured to run .NET
Micro Framework. It is also sold as part of the Imote2.Builder
kit.The Imote2.NET Edition is a modular stackable platform and can
be expanded with extension boards to customize the system to a specific
application. Through the extension board connectors sensor boards can
provide specific analog or digital interfaces. A battery board is
provided to supply system power, or it can be powered via the
integrated USB interface.
These magical words won't take you to a cave of treasures, but they do lead us to some exciting applications for wireless sensor networks that open up a treasure trove of information previously inaccessible. SESAME: SEnsing for Sport and Managed Exercise has a vision in which athletes and coaches are continuously provided with precise and relevant information about their performance, their body state and posture, presented in a form determined by sport-specific training requirements based on a careful analysis of coaching methods and coaches’ informational needs. To realize this, athletes wear an easily-extensible range of different sensors that capture accurate information about their position, skeletal posture, muscular response, and physiology in a way that is non-intrusive and capable of working in the context in which the athlete normally performs. This setup is engineered so as not to cause injury, discomfort or performance degradation and it must not interfere with aerodynamics. Wearable sensors are complemented by track-side monitors and video capture equipment and by an integrated hardware/software/network platform designed to enable substantial volumes of data to be gathered, recorded, analyzed and presented to athletes and coaches in the most accessible and useful form. The main objective of the SESAME project is to conduct high-quality scientific research to produce deployable systems that have a positive and measurable impact on the training of elite athletes.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have just released an open source low power 802.11 sensor board tailored for Crossbow's Imote2 platform. The SESAME consortium is a multidisciplinary group consisting of 6 partners with University of Cambridge Engineering Department as a member. The sensor board developed is designed to support the high data rate requirements of the sports sensing application. The UCAM-WSB100 is a low power wireless sensor daughter board for the Imote2 platform designed to facilitate high data-rate wireless sensor applications. Developed to support the SESAME project, the board will be used to collect real-time and off-line processing and feedback in enhancing the performance of elite athletes.
Overview of the UCAM-WSB100 sensor board: * Compatible with the Imote2 processor board * Low Power 802.11 b/g based on Marvell 88W8686 chipset * Supports ad-hoc and infrastructure modes * Access to power control of the radio system * 12 analog channels (12-bits resolution) * Physical dimensions: 48mm x 36mm *
Linux driver support via libertas drivers in mainline kernel
The information obtained from the sensors will be pre-processed on the athlete to take account of the measurements required and the prevailing network conditions. The data is then transmitted wirelessly to a base-station and application platform. Here, the data will be further fused and processed in a way that is informed by an understanding of biomechanical models of athletes; an understanding of the consequences of sensor placement error and physical properties of the method of attachment; and the coaching objective for which the data are being captured. Within SESAME, the primary experimental focus will be on sprinting, for which precise technique is hugely important and mechanical constraints on performance are well understood. Consequently, the derived data will include the position, velocity, acceleration and orientation of the athlete, their stride length and rate, body posture and instantaneous pressure in the shoes, as well as physiological data such as heart rate and blood oxygen level. The data will then be output in three different ways: they will be sent for long term storage and offline analysis; they will be presented visually to the coaches in a way that is meaningful to them; and they will be returned directly to the athlete in real time as biofeedback.
The UCAM-WSB100 is created as an open source platform. As part of the effort to develop open source hardware for use in conjunction with Crossbow's Imote2, the details of the hardware reference design (schematics, board layout diagrams) are available to the wireless sensor network community. Users will be able to easily tailor the system to their particular application. Researchers at the University
of Cambridge are seeking volunteers to help improve the hardware reference design and add support for this board in other operating systems such as TinyOS and .Net. If interested in participating in this development, click here and for more information on this project, click here.
This short clip is taken from a Japanese National TV broadcast discussing the vibrations experienced during off road activities. This clip highlights how using Crossbow's CXL accelerometer mounted on the handlebars of a mountain bike, users were able to monitor the acceleration and shock the rider experienced while running the course.
For more information on Crossbow's accelerometer products, click here.
The Wireless Sensor Network Research group (WSNRG) has published a new article titled 802.15.4 vs ZigBee
which helps people understand and distinguish between all the communications
technologies that are used in the WSN field: 802.15.4, ZigBee, Mesh
protocols, 2.4GHz, 868MHz and 900MHz bands… This document
compares both IEEE 802.15.4 and ZigBee technologies while explaining the main characteristics of each.
To summarize 802.15.4 vs ZigBee:
802.15.4 is thought to be a protocol to get point to point and energy efficient communications.
ZigBee defines extra services (start topology routing, encryption, application services) over 802.15.4.
ZigBee creates semi-centralized networks where just the end devices can sleep
Different completely distributed mesh algorithms are being used over 802.15.4 which is the protocol used to create.
Building on its popular Imote2 advanced wireless sensor platform,
Crossbow Technology announced the new Imote2 Multimedia Board
(IMB400), an integrated camera sensor board that simplifies the capture
of rich media content for wireless sensor network applications. The IMB400 board adds rich media capabilities to wireless sensor platforms.
Ralph Kling, Chief Architect for Crossbow Technology said “For the first time visual and audio data can be easily added to wireless sensor applications. This opens up new possibilities for wireless sensor applications, including for example, surveillance, machine vision, object tracking, animal behavior surveys, and elder care monitoring in locations and environments that would otherwise be too costly to observe with traditional monitoring systems.”
The Imote2 Multimedia Board offers a compact, power efficient solution due to its integration of camera, audio and motion detection functionality into one platform. The built-in camera can handle high-quality images with resolutions up to 640x480 pixels and 30 fps, along with audio at sampling rates of up to 48kHz. Instead of using compute intensive image analysis to detect motion, the IMB400 uses a Passive InfraRed (PIR) sensor to pick up movement, which then activates the camera allowing for its operation as a low power device. These images can subsequently be stored, locally processed and transmitted with accompanying sound.
DCOSS is one of the premier
conferences for sensor network research. It is intended to cover
several aspects of distributed computing in sensor systems such as high
level abstractions and models, systematic design methodologies, signal
and information
processing, algorithms, analysis and applications. Many of those who will be demonstrating are featured Crossbow customers.
Distributed sensor systems have become a highly active research area due
to their potential for providing diverse new capabilities. Such systems
allow intelligent dense monitoring of physical environments. The focus
of this conference is on distributed computing issues in large-scale
networked sensor systems (including algorithms, applications, systematic
design techniques and tools, and in-network signal and information
processing).
June 7 - 10, 2009, Marina Del Rey, USA
IMPORTANT DATES
Submission Deadline: 11:59PM EST Jan 25, 2009
Notification: March 24, 2009
Camera Ready: March 31, 2009
Authors are invited to submit original unpublished manuscripts that
demonstrate current research on computational aspects of distributed
sensor systems. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:
Task allocation, reprogramming and reconfiguration
Dynamic resource management
Scalable, heterogeneous architectures (node and system-level)
Middleware interfaces, communication and processing primitives
Design, simulation and optimization tools for deployment and operation
Design automation and application synthesis techniques
Closed-loop control for sensing and actuation
Case studies: lessons from real world deployments
Network coding and compression
The conference will be co-located with several closely related workshops,and will provide a forum for researchers and practitioners to present their contributions related to the above high-level aspects of distributed sensor systems. In addition to contributed papers, the meeting will also include keynote addresses by leading researchers, a panel discussion, and a poster session.
Crossbow's new eKo system has not only brought wireless sensor networks into the heart of precision agriculture, the system now also offers a quick and easy solution for anyone wanting to incorporate wireless sensor networks into their own outdoor monitoring solution. Whether they are looking to use eKo for environmental monitoring and research, urban monitoring, pollution detection, etc., this system is on its way to being the wireless sensor networking solution for any outdoor sensing requirement regardless of sensor type. eKo is fully packaged for the elements, solar-powered and ready to use out-of-the-box. This platform now provides users with a solution that requires little effort for complete customization with the new ESB developer's kit. The first phase of this kit has now been released to all eKo users.
eKo nodes (EN2100) can interface to many different types of sensors. Each of the node’s four sensor ports has a 6-pin connector that programmably interfaces to either analog or digital sensors, and each port has the ability to support two different sensors. Crossbow has created a standard interface (ESB: Environmental Sensor Bus) to communicate with a wide variety of sensors through these ports.
Phase 1 of Crossbow's ESB developer’s kit allows users to interface
their own simple analog sensors that do not require any additional signal or power conditioning to the eKo node. Users will only need to program the self-identification
EEPROM and wire the sensors to the connector. The EEPROM embedded in the sensor’s connector is read by the port during power-up, and this information tells the node how to communicate with the sensor and contains parameters such as the required operating voltage and power-up time. After the information is read, the node programmably changes the pins according to the ESB requirements. To request details on using Phase 1 of the ESB Developer's kit with your eKo system, visit Crossbow's site here.
Phase 2 of this kit release will support simple analog sensors requiring additional signal conditioning and/or power conditioning. These sensors use the external interface circuit between the eKo node and the sensor. The self-identification EEPROM is embedded in the Switchcraft connector.
Phase 3 will provide support for complex digital sensors that require signal conditioning, power boost or intelligent communication. These sensors use an external interface circuit between the eKo node and the sensor. They do not require that the EEPROM is embedded in the cable as the self-identification information is contained in the microprocessor.
As an example of interfacing a simple sensor to eKo, Crossbow has recently integrated the MaxBotix MaxSonar range finder along with an air temperature sensor on the same connector. The MaxSonar is an accurate, very low cost, ultra-sonic range finder that can run directly from the eKo battery supply at very low current. Also, of interest is to measure the ambient air temperature at the same time. Both of these sensors can be wired to a single eKo port connector.
The entire assembly can easily be mounted in PVC pipe fixtures for outdoor deployment. Once the two sensors are wired a Dallas DS2431 1Wire EEPROM is mounted into the sensor Switchcraft connector. Finally the EEPROM is programmed with the self-identification information. This is done using a programming board and PC program from Dallas Semiconductor. A mating Switchcraft connector is wired to the board to allow the sensor cable to be attached directly and the EEPROM then programmed.
The simplicity of integrating unique sensors with eKo, a fully packaged ready-to-use outdoor wireless monitoring device, enables users to deploy wireless sensor networks quickly, easily and effectively in a way they never have before. To request details on Phase 1 of the ESB Developer's kit, visit Crossbow's site here.
The continuous size and cost reduction of electronic devices is gradually making the vision of ubiquitous wireless sensors networks a reality. After almost a decade of extensive research, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are in the midst of the transition towards industrial deployment in various application domains such as automotive, environmental monitoring, health care, energy management, and building and industrial automation. BAIA presents a panel of outstanding experts from the academia and the industry who have played an essential role in the history and development of WSNs, including Crossbow's President/CEO, Mike Horton.
BAIA has organized an outstanding panel that will explore the state of wireless sensor networks on the evening of October 8th at UC Berkeley. Panelists include:
Prof. David Culler, UC Berkeley, CTO and Co-Founder Arch Rock
Mike Horton, CEO and Co-Founder Crossbow
Prof. Raju Pandey, UC Davis, CTO and Co-Founder Synapsense
Prof. Kris Pister, UC Berkeley, CTO and Co-Founder Dust Networks
Dr. Joe Polastre, CTO and Co-Founder Sentilla
Prof. Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli, UC Berkeley, CTA and Co-Founder Cadence Design Systems
Questions addressed will include:
- What applications will drive the mass deployment of WSNs both in the short and in the long term?
- What players will be most successful in the WSN domain and what business model will they adopt?
- What are the main barriers before wide adoption of WSNs?
- When will the deployment of WSNs happen in large volumes?
The event is free, but limited to 100 attendees. Learn more and register here.
