Remote Firmware Updating
Pasi Riissanen · Theseus (Ammattikorkeakoulujen) · 2016
The objective of this final year project was to develop a device to gather measurement data from an air quality sensor in a database over the Internet. The device was to be an add-on for the already existing sensor without having to change any components of it. The sensor’s firmware was also required to be updated remotely. This thesis and the application that was developed is a part of a larger project including a database server for gathering data and a web application for displaying the gathered data. The platform for the device was an Atmel microcontroller with a Debian Linux operating system. One part of the project was enabling a secure connection between the sensor client and the server. When sending measurement data over the Internet security aspects regarding data integrity and authenticity had to be taken into consideration. Another part of the requirements of this project was updating the sensor’s firmware remotely. A program was developed for this purpose. Converting the firmware file from Intel Hex into binary form and utilizing the sensor’s proprietary communication protocol were the challenges faced when writing the software. The developed device met the set requirements and is able to communicate securely and to upload new firmware to the sensor. This project was a good learning experience regarding information security and autonomously functioning embedded devices.