Development of software architecture for environmental monitoring using wireless sensor networks

Abstract

In this thesis, I describe the development of the software architecture for temperature monitoring using Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). The goal of the software is to provide a means to remotely monitor and analyze temperature data in a closed environment. This architecture forms a building block to achieve the larger aim of energy management in built facilities. A 16 node wireless sensor network was set up to monitor ambient temperature at various locations in MIT. A console application was developed in the C# language to collect temporal sensor data and store it in a SQL database. The application also provides a management system for fire hazard warnings by sending e-mails and calling mobile phones. An ASP.NET web application is then developed to retrieve temperature data over Internet. The data is accessible in different formats-table, XML and visualized in graphical form. This application lets the user register their phone numbers and e-mails to be informed in case of a fire emergency or excessive heating/cooling. A mobile application is developed on top of the web application to increase the range of data access to handheld Internet enabled telephony devices such as mobile phones and PDAs.

(cont.) The web access is implemented in XHTML-MP with a .NET web service and J2EE web service client back end. A desktop application is then used to access the real time temperature data through a PC desktop connected to the Internet. Spatial representation of data is visualized by overlaying the temperature profiles with floor plans and maps of the buildings using GIS.