Collaborative Research: NeTS-NOSS: The Sensor Network Development and Deployment Studio

该项目设计、实现并评估传感器网络集成开发环境，支持传感器网络软件生命周期的多个阶段。研究了用于传感器网络设计、实现、执行以及部署后故障排除和维护的工具和中间件。该项目解决了当前最先进技术的主要弱点。硬件和无线通信的最新进展使无线传感器节点的经济高效发展成为可能。然而，它们并没有导致传感器网络部署的扩散。问题主要在于传感器网络嵌入式软件开发的高成本。困扰当前开发工作的挑战包括(i)缺乏分离应用程序级和网络级关注点的网络架构，（ii）独立编写的中间件的可组合性差，（iii）用于分布式调试和测试的工具不足，（iv）系统校准和维护支持差，以及(v)对性能保证的支持差。在应对上述挑战的过程中，产生了无数的基础研究问题。需要适合传感器网络的新的计算范式。需要操作系统支持，以便导出方便的系统抽象，同时又能有效地适应远程操作。必须开发能够在不可靠、资源有限的环境中推断分布式执行正确性的调试工具。网络传输必须设计成适合于大范围的传感器网络应用。该项目在构建一个全面的软件开发工具集的背景下解决了前面提到的问题。外联和教育活动也包括在内。目标是解决降低传感器网络采用障碍的基础研究问题。该项目的成功完成将使开发和部署传感器网络和应用程序变得更加容易。

This project designs, implements, and evaluates an integrated development environment for sensor networks with support for multiple phases of the sensor network software life-cycle. Tools and middleware are investigated for sensor network design, implementation, execution, and post-deployment troubleshooting and maintenance. The project addresses key weaknesses in the current state-of-the-art. Recent advances in hardware and wireless communication made cost-effective development of wireless sensor nodes feasible. However, they have not lead to a proliferation of sensor network deployments. The problem lies largely in the high cost of sensor network embedded software development. Challenges that plague the current development efforts include (i) lack of a network architecture that separates application-level and network-level concerns, (ii) poor composability of independently written middleware, (iii) insufficient tools for distributed debugging and testing, (iv) poor system calibration and maintenance support, and (v) poor support for performance assurances. Myriads of fundamental research problems arise in addressing the above challenges. New computing paradigms are needed that are suitable for sensor networks. Operating system support is needed that exports convenient system abstractions yet fits efficiently on motes. Debugging tools must be developed that can reason about distributed execution correctness in an unreliable, resource-limited environment. Network transport must be designed that is suitable for a large category of sensor network applications. The project addresses the aforementioned problems in the context of building a comprehensive software development toolset. Outreach and educational activities are included. The goal is to resolve the fundamental research problems in reducing sensor network adoption barriers. Successful completion of this project will make it much easier to develop and deploy sensor networks and applications.