NITOS Wireless Sensor Platform
The NITOS prototype wireless sensor mote, is comprised of open-source and configurable modules. NITOS mote features the ATmega32u4 microcontroller running at 8MHz and operating at 3.3V. The aforementioned microcontroller is fully compatible with the Arduino platform that enables ease of software development and provides compatibility with several commercial sensing modules. Moreover, the platform is equipped with an Xbee radio interface that enables communication with the respective gateway. The Xbee module is a tiny device ideal for setting up mesh networks and has a defined rate of 250 kbps. This module uses the IEEE 802.15.4 stack which is the basis for theZigbee protocol. Apart from the Xbee module, NITOS mote can also feature a WiFi wireless interface in order to communicate with WiFi gateways. The developed mote currently features specific sensing modules, an air temperature and humidity sensor, a light intensity sensor and a human presencesensor. Various types of sensing modules and actuators can be further integrated exploiting existing Arduino software that implements several existing communications protocols. The firmware can be easily uploaded through the on-board USB connection. Figure 1 illustrates the developed NITOS mote and the respective gateway node.
