Visualization of Environmental Data Generated by Wireless Sensor Networks
Valerie Szudziejka, Oliver Kreylos, Bernd Hamann · 2002
Introduction An emerging area of research in environmental monitoring involves the use of wireless networks of motes, autonomous sensor nodes. This "smart dust" is deployable in nearly any environment. Areas that could greatly benefit from the use of motes include energy conservation, preservation of avian species, and determination of structural integrity of buildings. The Smart Dust project at UC Berkeley aims to fit a mote within a cubic millimeter and to make the manufacturing cost negligible -- under a dollar per mote [1]. Motes currently in use range in size from a matchbox to a large coin and may cost up to $100 each; however, a prototype the size of an aspirin and one-tenth the cost may be in production within a year. These motes can be configured to collect and transmit a multitude of data such as temperature and light. Sensor networks can contain a few or a few thousand motes, and when deployed, motes are generally not positioned in a regular fashion. Motes can transmit data