Motes, those tiny, low-powered sensor devices just got smaller. Moteiv, a San Francisco startup, recently introduced Tmote Mini, the smallest device yet. It fits in the MiniSD slot and can be incorporated in stationary network nodes, phones or PDAs.
The Tmote Mini comes standard with a temperature sensor, but includes hooks for connecting multiple sensors.
The Tmote Mini combines a Texas Instruments MSP430 microcontroller with a TI/Chipcon CC2420 low-power radio, forming the “mote core” for use in WSN applications. The Tmote Mini line is offered in two configurations: the standard module has 0 dBm (1mW) output power at 2.4 GHz, and an enhanced module with +20 dBm (100mW) output power at 2.4 GHz. (Both versions are IEEE 802.15.4 compliant).
A PDA or smartphone can become a mobile monitoring station using the $30 to $50 devices.
Motes self-configure themselves into wireless sensor networks. Hundreds or thousands can form a system.
Applications include asset tracking in industry and health care, micro-climate monitoring in agribusiness, security surveillance in the military, monitoring corrosion on airliner airframes, energy management in commercial buildings – and adding sensing capabilities to toys.
Moteiv’s products are based on the IEEE 802.15.4 wireless personal area network (WPAN) standard, and comply with the ZigBee narrowband wireless protocol for home and building automation. These technologies appear to be the de facto emerging standards in the WSN industry.
Sensor networks in commercial buildings for energy management, will reach $2.6 billion in revenues by 2011.
WiFi Planet has a profile on the twenty-something co-founders and the possible applications.
The original blue-sky idea was “smart dust,” computing devices the size of a speck of dust – hence, “mote” – that could be embedded in paint and other liquids and sprayed into an environment or onto surfaces to create ad hoc mesh networks.
In vineyards in Northern California, wine growers are installing WSNs with soil moisture sensors to tell them when the grapes need to be irrigated. With ground-level soil moisture sensor networks, growers can tell in real time exactly how much irrigation is required and when. The sensor network can even turn on an irrigation system automatically when soil moisture reaches a certain threshold.
Another key application segment for Moteiv is mobile asset management in harsh environments such as rail yards, truck depots and grocery distribution centers. A mobile asset tracking system would allow a worker to walk into an environment, query the network to find the lost asset, then upload its location over the cellular network.
The military is looking at using Tmote Mini-powered WSNs in isolated areas to ensure they remain secure in the absence of direct monitoring. Healthcare providers at Johns Hopkins University are exploring using ad hoc WSNs in disaster situations. Triage nurses with Tmote Mini-enabled mobile devices could attach nodes to casualties and program the nodes with their assessment.
M2M has a detailed report (pdf) on a variety of sensor devices.
The Building Automation and Control Network (BACnet) runs Building Automation and Control Networks for “smart buildings”. BACnet is an American national standard, a European standard, a national standard in more than 30 countries, and an ISO global standard. The protocol provides interoperability for a variety of HVAC and lighting gear.
According to IT industry analyst IDC, by 2008, there will be 16.4 billion networked devices worldwide, the majority of them wireless. Networked edge devices will handle more than 50% of all network traffic.
Kiyon has a wireless BACnet WiFi Mesh, for wireless building automation. Unfortunately, it recently announced it is leaving the building automation business.
SCADA is the acronym for Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition. SCADA systems are typically used to perform data collection and control at the supervisory level. For example water plants and electrical substations.
Related DailyWireless articles include; Sensors Expo 2007, Lower Power Sensor Nets, UltraWideband: All Together Now?, Firefighter SmokeNet, Public Safety Mesh, Solar RoofNet Wiki andOSCON 2006.
