WSN Update

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- Jeff

The GLACSWEB and FloodNet projects demonstrate advances in pervasive computing and illustrate how networks of wireless sensor probes can be used to measure environmental conditions.

Here is a short article that discusses two very interesting projects going on at the University of Southampton in the UK. They are conducting two studies in Pervasive Computing using Wireless Sensor Networks. One study is showing how they can learn more about climate change by studying glacier behavior. The second project has installed sensor networks along a river to provide early flood warnings.

Full Article...

Here is a summary of some of the press releases this week...

Tridium and Dust Networks Announce Alliance in Energy Management
Tridium, Inc. and Dust Networks today announced an alliance targeted at dramatically lowering the cost of energy monitoring and real-time demand response applications. Dust Networks' SmartMesh wireless sensor solutions now interface directly with devices and applications based on Tridium's Niagara(AX) Framework.

Crossbow Technology and Richards-Zeta Form Key Strategic Alliance
Crossbow Technology, Inc. and Richards-Zeta Building Intelligence, Inc. today jointly announced the formation of a key strategic business and technology alliance intended to deliver the power of wireless sensor networks and building intelligence to end-users.

Researchers at SDSU's Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve will demonstrate a network of early warning fire sensors with the potential to greatly improve San Diego's wildfire defenses.

San Diego State University is demonstrating how Ecological and Environmental monitoring is becoming one of the early uses of Wireless Sensor Networking technology. Particularly interesting is the fact that they got a grant for $550,000 from the U.S. Department of Commerce in addition to a number of other funding sources for this initiative.

Full Article...

This week, two wireless home automation technology groups held showcase events in two different Nordic capitals. And their products both begin with a 'Z'

This is a great article that compares the two leading approaches to Home Automation with wireless mesh networking - Zigbee and Zensys. Zensys has been around for a while and has a jump start on actual products. However, they use more proprietary technology. Zigbee is a true standard, but there are many problems that come with that. It is much slower to market because it has taken so long for the organization to agree on the standard. This article also discusses some of the pitfalls both technologies have related to Home Automation, in particular lack of security.

Full Article...

RFID benefits now being confirmed by some early adopters are only the beginning of the impact that pervasive wireless data transfer will have on the enterprise, according to network executives at Computerworld's Mobile and Wireless World conference.

This article by John Cox at NetworkWorld.com discusses how RFID and Wireles Sensor Networks are likely to drastically change the way companies do business. It talks a lot about RFID, but also gives examples of Wireless Sensor usage by companies like BP Oil. One BP Executive is quoted as saying "It doesn't have the fanfare of the Internet a few years ago. But in a few years, I think we'll see that it will have had a greater impact on business processes than the Internet."

Full Article...

Texas Instruments Inc. has announced a collaboration with Ember Corp. to unveil the lowest power consuming ZigBee networking and microcontroller platform.

In the last post, I mentioned how Ember has developed a chipset that allows OEMs to use the microcontroller of their choice. This article shows an example of this. Ember and TI are partnering to pair Ember's EM2420 Zigbee chipset (and eventually their new EM260) with TI's MSP430F161x low power microcontrollers. This will allow developers to build Zigbee applications that require the lowest possible power requirements.

Full Article...

New EM260 designed for OEMs seeking choice in microcontrollers

Just after they announced their complete "Zigbee on a Chip" solution, Ember announced yesterday the EM260, a network processor from the same family. This purpose of this component is to allow OEMs to build Zigbee devices using their choice of popular third-party microcontrollers.

Full Article...

Unfettered Access to Specification Expected to Accelerate Worldwide Adoption and Fuel Development of ZigBee-based Products

Zigbee announced yesterday that they will make the Zigbee Specification available for free beginning in the end of June. They hope making the specification available to universities, research organizations, and companies at no cost will help increase development activity related to the technology.

Here is a link to the press release from the Zigbee site (in MS Word format).

Full Article...

U.S. researchers are testing a network of wireless sensors that can detect damage to bridges, buildings, roads and other structures instantly.

This article provides an excellent comparison of Wirless Sensor Networks versus traditional wired sensors. It describes a test conducted by researchers from Stanford University and the University of Michigan using two sensor networks to monitor a bridge. The first network contained traditional wired sensors, the second contained wirless sensor network devices. The test shows that wireless sensor devices (motes) are less expensive, more functional, and quicker and easier to install and maintain. The wireless network took an hour to install and cost roughly $1,400. The wired network took a whole day to install and cost between $10,000 and $15,000. The article shows the tremendous benefits of Wireless Sensor Networks over some of the existing technology.

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Market's Most Widely Deployed Wireless Sensor Network Now Offers Ultra Low-Power Mesh; Turnkey Support for Modbus and Other Serial Protocols

Millennial Net is doing a great job at targeting one of the early adopters of Wireless Sensor Network Technology - large scale industrial and commercial facilities. One of their advantages is turnkey support for exisiting building systems, such as MODBUS or other Serial Protocols.

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Ember Corporation Market Leader to Launch Enhanced ZigBee-Compliant Hardware and Software at Expo, Company Executive to Give Presentation on De-Mystifying the Building of ZigBee Applications

Ember is making excellent progress in enabling companies to develop Zigbee based solutions quicker and easier. At the Sensor Expo in Chicago on June 6th, they will be introducing the first ever single chip Zigbee system. They will also unveil their second generation Zigbee stack software along with enhanced development and debugging tools.

Full Article...