[WLANware] Project ideas

[elektra]

Hello Bharat -

the aims of mesh protocol design at Freifunk or wireless community networks in 
general are quite different from those for WSNs. All mesh protocols that we 
(speaking of community networkers) are involved in testing and developing are 
proactive. 

Commonly the priority of sensor networks is saving power and computational 
effort. Hence all protocols used in this environment are reactive. Sensor 
applications usually trade routing optimization and routing performance for 
power consumption and computation effort. The amount of data in sensor networks 
is minimal, and routes are only established on demand. This seems to be a 
sensible decision.  

Maybe there are applications for proactive protocols in sensor networks. Can 
you think of any? I suppose a simplified implementation of B.A.T.M.A.N. could 
be feasible even for sensors if the priority is on instant availability of 
routes, routing performance and computational effort and memory requirement. 
However, power consumption will be much higher. The batteries will be drained 
within days, not months. 

Btw: You might be interested in the "Battle of the Mesh" 
http://battlemesh.org/ - a competiton between open source mesh protocols and 
developers. We'd like to see more protocol developers joining the competition. 
The next "battle" will take place in Spain in March 2011.

Cheers,
Elektra


>      I wanted to know if Freifunk is currently involved in any projects
> involving Wireless Sensor Networks, more from a software perspective.
> 
>     I mean, development of routing protocols, or tweaking of current
>  routing protocols to make them more feasible for low-powered and low
>  memory nodes. Is B.A.T.M.A.N or ATR suitable for WSNs?
> 
> 
>    Appreciate any help.
> 
> 
> Thanks,
> Bharat.
>