No abstract

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have been a widely researched field since the beginning of the 21st century. The field is already maturing, and TinyOS has established itself as the de facto standard WSN Operating System (OS). However, the WSN researcher community is still active in building more flexible, efficient and user-friendly WSN operating systems. Often, WSN OS design is based either on practical requirements of a particular research project or research group's needs or on theoretical assumptions spread in the WSN community. The goal of this paper is to propose WSN OS design rules that are based on a thorough survey of 40 WSN deployments. The survey unveils trends of WSN applications and provides empirical substantiation to support widely usable and flexible WSN operating system design

Abstract. Monitoring wild animals, especially those that are becoming endangered (for example, lynxes and wolves) is important for biology researchers. Solutions for the monitoring already exist; however, they all have drawbacks, such as limited range or lifetime, sensing modality, reporting delays, unreliability of operation. In this work we describe our experiences in designing an improved animal monitoring sensor system and low-level software for sensor node control and communication. The target animals for this particular research are wild lynxes or canines, however it can be extended to other animal species. The LynxNet system is based on tracking collars, built around TMote Mini sensor nodes, sensors, GPS and 433MHz radio, and stationary base stations, placed at the locations that are frequented by the animals. We present preliminary field results of our radio communication range tests.