Medical Applications of Wireless Sensor Networks: Who-Did-What - Application and Multidisciplinary Aspects of Wireless Sensor Networks - page 172

MICAz nodes are integrated with infrared motion and dust sensors, and also
temperature, light, pulse, and blood oxygenation sensors are present. Sensors for
temperature, dust, motion, and light are referenced as emplaced sensors . These
devices are deployed in the living space to sense environmental quality or condi-
tions. Pulse and blood oxygenation sensors form body networks which provide
physiological sensing and activity classification.
Stargate gateways are embedded platforms serving as gateways between the
wireless sensor and IP networks. These nodes allow user interfaces to connect,
authenticate, and interact with the system.
PDAs and PCs form back-end systems which provide online analysis of sensor
data and long-term storage of system configuration, user information, privacy poli-
cies, and audit records. These components also serve as user interfaces which
allow any legitimate recipient of the system to query sensor data, depending on
enforced privacy policies.

Software

Software components of the Alarm-Net system are

• TinyOS query processor and motes' security modules (SecureComm)

• AlarmGate

• Java resident monitoring and sensor data querying applications

• Circadian activity rhythm (CAR) analysis program

TinyOS query processor serves as simple data sampler and limited data processor.
Security modules enable communication between motes and stargates. Basic com-
ponent is the implementation of SecureComm protocol, a hardware-accelerated
secure messaging protocol.
AlarmGate is an embedded Java application which runs on stargate gateway. It
can be referenced as application level gateway between the wireless and IP net-
works and serves for managing power, privacy, security, queries, and client
connections.
Java resident monitoring and sensor data querying applications run on PDAs and
PCs. These applications present and store collected sensor data.
A CAR analysis program processes stored data, learns individual behavior pat-
terns, and provides support for context-aware power management and privacy by
putting some feedback into the network.

Contribution

Contributions of the Alarm-Net system include development of scalable, heteroge-
neous network, based on custom hardware components; implementation of context-
aware protocols, informed by CAR analysis, which enable smart power management
and dynamic alert-driven privacy depending on individual's activity patterns;