RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURES
Name: 802.15.4/Zigbee Laboratory
Site: Bologna
Responsible: Chiara Buratti
Partner: Devices bought for the Wireless Sensor Networks M (73548) course, University of Bologna
Description: Many Freescale/NXP devices are available to be programmed with IEEE 802.15.4 and Zigbee protocols. Two types of devices are classified as 1322x Network Node, with an embedded LCD display, and 1322x Sensor Node, having a few sensors. The typical output power is 0 dBm, with +2 dBm max, and the typical sensitivity is -95 dBm. The frequency range is from 2405 to 2480 MHz, and the transmission range in line of sight (outdoors) is about 300 meters. They can shape a star or a tree network topology through IEEE 802.15.4 or Zigbee, respectively. Each device can either act as a Coordinator, a Router, or an End Device based on the code it is running. The programming tools are made available by the manufacturer (Freescale/NXP) and consist of the BeeKit workbench with IAR as a developing environment. Example codes allow the users to start programming both at MAC layer (IEEE 802.15.4) and NET layer (Zigbee) to run simple Smart Home applications. The Sensor Node has embedded a three-axis accelerometer, a temperature sensor, and a pressure sensor. One sniffer to capture packets transmitted on IEEE 802.15.4 channels and a JTAG Debugger for downloading the code is provided with the complete Starter Kit.
Access: The devices are generally used, and their code modified, during the teaching activity and for the Wireless Sensor Networks’ exam. Remote access to the devices is not possible. They can be borrowed under WiLab authorisation.
