COMMUNICATION SOLUTIONS

Low-Power Sensor Networks Organise Themselves Wirelessly

The EU-funded EYES project has developed an architecture and technology for a new generation of self-organising sensor networks. Members of the project consortium, including Infineon, have now produced a hardware reference design for a battery-powered sensor node.



EYES (EnergY-Efficient wireless Sensor) is a new hardware and software platform for the development of wireless sensors in power-sensitive applications. Designers can use it to implement basic networking capabilities quickly and easily, and to explore the possibilities of using collaborative sensors in self-healing, wireless networks.

The consortium’s new reference platform features an Infineon TDA5250 RF transceiver, low-power TI MSP430 microcontroller, temperature and light sensors, USB JTAG interface, serial Flash memory, SAW filter, and an antenna, all on a small (<8cm) PCB.

The low-power transceiver combines EYES baseband hardware with an optimised peripheral set to create a chip aimed at sensor networks, automotive remote controls, tyre pressure monitoring and keyless entry. The device implements half-duplex Frequency-Shift Keying/Amplitude-Shift Keying (FSK/ASK) communication at up to 19Kbit/s in the 868MHz to 870MHz band.

The EYES protocol uses Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) to reduce collisions and hence cut power consumption by minimising data resends. Also, using lower frequency bands allows operation over relatively long distances of up to hundreds of metres, when compared to systems working in the Gigahertz range.

EYES hardware is backed by open-source software based on TinyOS, an operating system conceived expressly to meet the needs of wireless embedded sensor networks. Written in nesC, a C-like language for programming structured component-based applications such as sensor networks, the development environment is based on open-source Linux, and can be run on a Windows PC using a Linux emulator.

To help engineers evaluate EYES solutions, Infineon also offers an EYES evaluation kit containing five network nodes. The operating system, basic network protocol stacks and development environment can be downloaded from the Infineon website, which can be reached via the link on the right.

Features

• Reference platform for self-organising wireless sensor networks
• Open node design
• Open-source software
  • Operating system
  • Linux-based development environment
• Free choice of wireless standards and protocols
• Automatic network reconfiguration
• Transmission range of a few hundred meters
• Data rate of 19Kbit/s
• Low power consumption

Applications

• Self-healing sensor networks
• Home automation
• Security and alarm systems
• Medical sensors
• Building automation solutions

For further information, including the EYES Sensor Network Development Kit Documentation, please click here