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ZenSens – Improving Sensor and Actuator Networks User Experience with iPhone Support
Paulo A. C.S. Neves, Andre F. Elias and Joel J.P.C. Rodriguez

Wireless sensor and actuator networks (WSAN) are composed of small smart nodes with sensing and/or actuating capabilities, and one or more sinks that help achieve the network’s goals. Although IPv6, with the 6LoWPAN specification, is readily available for sensor networks, deployments still employ dedicated routing and transport protocols. Moreover, Internet connectivity, automatic node attachment, and mobile access to data are sometimes overlooked. This paper extends the ZenSens user-oriented system architecture, introducing actuation support, and a novel mobile iPhone application. ZenSens features Plug-and-Play node attachment and operation, testbed with nodes running Contiki with IPv6 support, and World Wide Web access. As a result, ZenSens brings the power of WSAN to users without technological background. The system is presented, namely node firmware and Desktop software, together with iPhone native application, and Web access.With ZenSens data is accessible everywhere, thus turning sensor and actuator networks into ubiquitously accessible systems.

Keywords: Wireless sensor and actuator networks; Internet of things; User oriented networks; Mobile and ubiquitous computing; Data gathering and presentation

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