Super sensor network

Abstract

This dissertation studies composing a super sensor network from the combination of three functional sensor networks; A Sensor data producing network, a sensor data computing network and a sensor controlling network. The target devices are today labeled as large sensor nodes. The communication are based on an IP network using HTTP as the main protocol.

Bonjour is used for service discovery, with some adjustments for technical reasons. This allows for naming and location of available services without centralized servers, and it is implementable in small devices.

A super sensor network for meteorological observations is emulated using a computer cluster. The emulated measurements are accessed from stations available from observation collection systems accessible on the Internet. Images from web cameras are one kind of observation type used. The implemented system uses Python for rapid prototyping and for support for multiple operating systems.

This dissertation demonstrates that the selected technology and architecture may handle some of the demands in a sensor network, and that the architecture gives new opportunities on how to handle updates and sensor network control.

The implemented system also demonstrates that using standard Internet protocols can make access to services in the sensor network easy. A web browser may become the preferred user interface for controlling and accessing all parts of the sensor network, as it has for controlling printers and simple network devices.