IP-WSN

IP-based Wireless Sensor Networks

Recent technological progress has been materializing the Internet of Things (IoT), which is breathing new computational and communicational capability into anything in everyday life. An important step toward the IoT would be to facilitate suitable wireless sensor network technologies based on a verified standard protocol, the Internet Protocol, to support the network of things.

SNAIL is a research project for IP-based Wireless Sensor Networks (IP-WSN) performed by Real-time & Embedded Systems Lab (RESL) at KAIST. We have conducted research on various IP-WSN subjects including the development of a basic platform and test bed, architecture design of a global IP-WSN infrastructure for many kinds of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) applications, and some significant advanced topics to realize "The Internet of things" since the summer of 2007. It also includes four significant network protocols: mobility, web enablement, time synchronization, and security. Our project will proceed to make the most influential academic achievement contributable to acceleration of the ubiquitous era through our opulent experiences and technologies in WSN.

Research

SNAIL (Sensor Networks for an All-IP World)

The primary goal of SNAIL is to make a pivotal contribution to the realization of the Internet of Things through the building of a suitable network of things. One of the important steps toward reaching this objective was to facilitate feasible IP-WSN technologies that incorporate into a complete architecture the following four essential protocols: mobility, web enablement, time synchronization, and security. Currently, we are working on enhancing the SNAIL platform by designing and implementing following issues: Routing protocols, Service discovery, Network Management, Plug-and-play, Device Management, Low Power Connectivity, and Security.

Software Architecture

(a) SNAIL Sensor Node (b) SNAIL Gateway

Hardware platform

(a) SNAIL Gateway Platforms

(b) Monitoring Environment and (c) Healthcare Service

SNAIL basically meets RFC6282 (updates RFC4944) and RFC4919 proposed by IETF 6LoWPAN WG. Our implementation of the 6LoWPAN adaptation layer locates between L2 and a lightweight TCP/IP stack and has nothing to do with the TCP/IP stack other than the support of full features of RFC6282 for layered architecture. Also, in order to satisfy other standards related to IP-WSN, RFC6550 (RPL) and RFC7252 (CoAP) are implemented in network and application layers respectively. Underlying PHY/MAC layer is completely IEEE 802.15.4/Bluetooth Low Energy(BLE) compliant, and our own stateless autoconf algorithm and commissioning procedure are implemented; moreover, some valuable applications including a mobility management, time synchronization, web enablement, and security protocol are equipped.