Intel Mote: using Bluetooth in sensor networks

The Intel Mote is a new sensor node platform motivated by several design goals: increased CPU performance, improved radio bandwidth and reliability and the usage of commercial off-the-shelf components in order to maintain cost-effectiveness. This new platform is built around an integrated wireless microcontroller consisting of an ARM*7 core, a Bluetooth* radio, RAM and FLASH memory as well as various I/O options. Due to the connection-oriented nature of Bluetooth, a new network formation and maintenance algorithms that are optimized for this protocol have been created. In particular, the "scatternet" mode of Bluetooth has been successfully adapted to form networks comprised of multiple piconet.

The Intel Mote software architecture is based on an ARM port of TinyOS. Networking and routing layers have been created on top of the TinyOS base to provide the underlying multi-hop functionality. The network is self-organizing on startup and has mechanisms to repair failed links and circumvent failed nodes. Lower level functionality has been abstracted in the higher-level interface to allow the application programmer to utilize a virtual mesh network view without having to manage details of the Bluetooth operation. A new transport protocol has been developed to support end to end reliable transmission of large datagrams between arbitrary nodes in the network. Leveraging the Bluetooth hold mode, a network low power mode has been implemented. During this mode, data can still flow through the network at very lower rates, reducing the power consumption, while maintaining a fast network response time.

The Intel Mote was deployed in a pilot equipment monitoring application using industrial vibration sensors. This application was chosen since it benefits from the increased platform capabilities and network bandwidth of the Intel Mote platform. It also represents a potentially large market in the industrial monitoring and controls sector.