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Wireless sensors kit: Internet-ready "out of the box"

From "First IP-Powered Wireless Sensor Network Brings Physical Data into Digital Enterprise," Arch Rock Corp. press release, 30 October:

"Arch Rock Corporation has introduced the first wireless sensor network that can be accessed and operated as a full-fledged member of the IT infrastructure, allowing enterprises to use standard Internet management tools to gain visibility and control down to the level of individual sensor nodes.

"Arch Rock Primer Pack is a complete wireless sensor network (WSN) that is simple enough to be deployed in an hour as a pilot network in a factory, office building or data center, yet sophisticated enough to be seamlessly integrated into enterprise applications as a set of standards-compliant web services...

"Sensor data becomes immediately available to the plant manager or field worker on his mobile device of choice, or to the office worker in his web browser or enterprise planning application (e.g., ERP or DSS)... Individual sensor nodes can be assigned IP addresses, DNS names and web pages, and can be directly managed using pervasive IP tools such as SNMP, ping and traceroute. Standard Internet provisioning and troubleshooting techniques, as well as authentication and other security measures, can be applied to single nodes, groups of nodes or the entire WSN...

"Dr. David Culler, Arch Rock founder and chief technology officer, said, 'Sensor networks in the past have been approached as technology "islands," divorced from the broad set of widely-used Internet standards. Primer Pack uses those standards as the basis for bringing the sensor network into the web services environment and integrating it with enterprise applications. For the first time users can access and remotely manage the sensor network just as they would any other networked device.

" 'In addition, there's been far too much "assembly required": users have been left on their own to pull together the elements of WSNs - microcontrollers, radios, wireless protocols, interfaces, commissioning and management tools - and then tediously hand-code their applications...'

Components of Arch Rock Primer Pack

"...Arch Rock Gateway Server. The Gateway Server connects via Ethernet to the enterprise LAN, translating embedded applications into web services and providing a web-based console for setup, diagnostics and management of the WSN. Playing multiple roles - as an IP router, DNS server, HTTP server, SNMP agent - the Gateway lets users generate a deployment map; discover, register, move and configure nodes; enable or disable sensors; graphically display statistics on node reliability and performance; show node battery status; request data from individual nodes or groups; set reporting intervals, thresholds and alerts; and numerous other functions. Each page of the console offers a brief 'How to build this page' tutorial showing the REST API or SOAP calls that perform particular tasks.

"Arch Rock Bridge Node. This node provides industry-standard IEEE 802.15.4 wireless radio communication between the gateway and the sensor nodes [using channels in the 868, 915 or 2400 MHz bands].

"Arch Rock Sensor Nodes. Six battery-powered sensor nodes - miniature computers that incorporate TelosB compatible industry-standard motes - monitor temperature, light and humidity, communicating with one another and the Gateway Server over a self-organizing IEEE 802.15.4-based wireless network. Arch Rock's robust TinyOS operating system, low-power mesh networking protocols and embedded web services software maximize performance and reliability.

"Expansion Ports for external sensors. Users can choose from among thousands of types of common sensors/switches/actuators beyond those provided on the Sensor Nodes to augment the basic functions of Primer Pack. New sensors are easily added using pre-installed sensor drivers, with no system programming necessary.

"Web Services. A comprehensive set of web services lets users create applications to retrieve data from the WSN and control its functions. Rather than having to write embedded code at the sensor node, users work at the web services layer using REST and SOAP interfaces, and choosing from an extensive list of popular application development and management environments (e.g., WebSphere, Visual Studio, J2EE, OpenView, .NET) and standard languages (e.g., Java, C, C++, Perl, Visual Basic)...

About Arch Rock Corporation

"Arch Rock was founded in May 2005 to bridge the physical and digital worlds by bringing data gathered by wireless sensor networks (WSNs) into the enterprise IT infrastructure, where it can be easily viewed, analyzed and managed. The company's founders came from the University of California, Berkeley, and Intel Research, where they did seminal work on three generations of wireless sensor nodes ('Berkeley motes') and created the leading operating system for sensor networks, TinyOS... For more information, visit http://www.archrock.com."

[Wireless Sensor Nets: 30 October 2006]