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Above: Tyndall 10mm mote Transceiver layer with 1 cent coin and
10mm Node Interface Layer
Keywords:
Wireless sensor node, low power, energy efficient, 10mm, modular, small
A
highly miniaturised wireless sensor node with a high level of modularity
has been developed at Tyndall.
Following on from the success of
Tyndall 25mm node, it was decided that a similar modular
stacking system should be used. This type of design allows for easy
reconfiguring by adding different sensor layers.
The
layers that have already been developed are:
-
A transceiver module with a size of 10mm by 10mm,
operating in the 433/868MHz frequency bands.
-
An interface layer provides a regulated power
supply from a rechargeable battery, USB battery charging, and USB
communications to support the transceiver module. It also contains
memory for data storage.
-
A sensor layer supporting generic analogue
sensors e.g. photo-diode or thermistor. It also has a PWM output for
variable power control and I2C support for digital sensors
-
A second sensor layer has a calibrated
temperature and humidity sensor, and a 3-axis accelerometer
The
node has been designed to support very low power operation for
applications with low duty cycles, with a sleep current for the entire
node (including voltage regulation) of 3.3μA, transmission current of
10.35mA, and reception current of 13.32mA, and processing current of
688μA.
The
lower component count and smaller size make the node less expensive than
other nodes. This, along with its small size, high energy efficiency and
modularity make the node useable in a wider range of applications than
other nodes: for example in Body Area Networks. The 10mm node’s radio is
compatible with one of the radios in the 25mm node, allowing
heterogeneous networks to be built where the 25mm can act as a cluster
head for a number of 10mm nodes. Software to support such a network is
also being developed (link to “Energy aware
Protocols and embedded software” page)
Contact:
Seán
Harte - sean.harte@tyndall.ie -
Webpage
Brendan O’Flynn - brendan.oflynn@tyndall.ie -
Webpage
Further reading:
S.
Harte, B. O'Flynn, R.V. Martínez-Català, J. Buckley, and E.M. Popovici,
“Wireless sensor node design for heterogeneous networks,” in Proc.
XXXII Int. Microelectronics and Packaging Poland Conf., Pułtusk,
Poland, 2008.
S.
Harte, B. O'Flynn, R.V. Martínez-Català, and E.M. Popovici, “Design and
implementation of a miniaturised, low power wireless sensor node,” in
Proc. 18th Euro. Conf. Circuit Theory and Design, Seville, Spain,
2007, pp. 894-897.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ECCTD.2007.4529741 |
