SquidBee is an Open Source hardware and software wireless sensor device. The goal of SquidBee is getting an “open mote” to create Sensor Networks.
According to their web site, the self-powered, wireless SquidBee will:
- Acquire temperature, humidity, lightness, presence, pressure, sound, gases, smoke, presence, GPS, etc.
- Operate within values, when required.
- Transmits using a low power (ZigBee) protocol.
- Sleeps until next timeout and repeats.
The sensor devices let you connect up to 17 sensors; 11 digital I/O, and 6 analog I/O.
A lot of companies (Crossbow, Microstain and others) are researching in this field, but SquidBee is the only one which is really open source and hardware, say the promoters. Every part of the mote is accessible and can be studied, changed, personalized.
Two kinds of SquidBee are available; the sensor mote and the gateway. The first one is the self-powered sensor mote and the second is the USB connected WiFi receiver. You can collect information using the ZigBee protocol and transmit it to a mesh network using MeshLium, their Wifi mesh node.
The communications module transmits using a ZigBee module, developed by Libelium. A specialized wiki related to SquidBee and the Sensor Networks will be created soon, says the SquidBee team.
It was designed for research and educational purposes, NOT FOR COMMERCIAL ones. It might be ideal for an educational project. It’s distributed through Libelium Comunicaciones, in Zaragoza, Spain.
Related DailyWireless stories include; MaxStream ZigBee module, Lower Power Sensor Nets, Firefighter SmokeNet, and Zigbee 2006.
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