Portilla, J., de Castro, A., Abril, A., Riesgo, T., “Integrated hardware interfaces for modular sensor networks”, Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering”, 6590, 9, 2007. Copyright 2007. Society of Photo‑Optical Instrumentation Engineers. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited.Sensor networks have reached a great relevance during the last years. The idea is to use a large number of nodes
measuring different physical parameters in several environments, which implies different research challenges (low power
consumption, communication protocols, platform hardware design, etc). There is a tendency to use modular hardware
nodes in order to make easier rapid prototyping as well as to be able to redesign faster and reuse part of the hardware
modules. One of the main obstacles for rapid prototyping is that sensors present heterogeneous interfaces. In this paper, a
VHDL library for sensors/actuators interfaces is proposed. The purpose is to have a set of different sensor interfaces that
include the most common in the sensors/actuators world, enabling the rapid connection to a new sensor/actuator.
Moreover, the concept presented here may be used for new interfaces that can be easily developed. The VHDL
implementation is independent of the final platform (any FPGA or ASIC) in order to minimize redesign effort and make
easier rapid prototyping. The interfaces are installed in a UPM platform for sensor networks
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