Smartmote - An innovative autonomous Wireless Sensor Node architecture

Wireless Sensor Node (or Mote) is a basic building block of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). The Motes can be deployed in various application domains to sense and transmit the parameters to the network controller for further processing. The Hardware architecture of Mote plays an important role in improving the sustainability and efficiency of the sensor network. This paper introduces the design of a Mote with an innovative architecture consisting of energy harvesting capabilities from solar energy. This Mote provides power source switching option between primary and secondary batteries depending on the state of charge information of the batteries, provision for over the air programming, provision for reduction in power consumption through Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling, Switching RF paths along with the provision to connect different Add-on cards to serve different application areas. The Mote also contains a Real-Time Clock (RTC) IC for synchronization and an external Watchdog timer for resetting the Microcontroller in case of malfunctioning of application. Proper Electromagnetic Compliance & Electrostatic Discharge immunity have also been taken care by addition of RF shielding & ESD protection components. A water & dust proof enclosure makes it even more suitable for outdoor applications.