Luster: Wireless Sensor Network For Environmental Research

Environmental wireless sensor network (EWSN) systems are deployed in potentially harsh and remote environments where inevitable node and communication failures must be tolerated. LUSTER-Light Under Shrub Thicket for Environmental Research-is a system that meets the challenges of EWSNs using a hierarchical architecture that includes distributed reliable storage, delay-tolerant networking, and (deployment time validation techniques.In LUSTER, a fleet of sensors coordinate communications using LiteTDMA, a low-power cluster-based MAC protocol. They measure the complex light environment in thickets and are open to additional ecological parameters, such as temperature and CO2.LUSTER has been deployed and evaluated in laboratory, forested, and barrier island environments. It includes new sensor hardware designs: (a) "SolarDust", a hybrid multichannel energy harvesting and sensing device;, (b) "Medusa," a spatially reconfigurable light sensor; (c) a removable SD card storage node; and, (d) in-situ user interface tool for deployment time validation.