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Building Wireless Sensor Networks

Building Wireless Sensor Networks

Robert Faludi

Beijing • Cambridge • Farnham • Köln • Sebastopol • Tokyo

Building Wireless Sensor Networks
by Robert Faludi

Copyright © 2011 Robert Faludi. All rights reserved.

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December 2010: First Edition.

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 Table of Contents

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi

1. Getting Ready . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Buying an XBee Radio 1
Hardware 1
Antennas 4
Vendors 6
Buying an Adapter 6
Digi Evaluation Board 7
USB Adapters 7
Breakout Boards 10
Arduino Board Adapter Hack 12
What Are All Those Pins? 15
Choosing a Terminal Program 15
Firmware Update Software 17
Terminal Software for Configuring Settings 17
Summary 20

2. Up and Running . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Radio Basics 23
Electromagnetic Spectrum 24
Inverse Square Law 24
Introduction to ZigBee 25
Network Topology 27
Addressing Basics 28
PAN Addresses 29
Channels 29
All Together Now 29
XBee Firmware Updates 32
Reading Current Firmware and Configuration 35
Configuring XBee 40

v
 Settings 40
Connecting from Windows 41
Connecting from Macintosh 43
Command Mode and Transparent Mode 46
AT Commands (Are Your Friend) 47
Using AT Commands 49
Basic ZigBee Chat 50
Parts 50
Addresses 50
Coordinator 51
Router 53
Two Computers 53
One Computer 54
Chat 54
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Troubleshooting 55
Success! 56

3. Build a Better Doorbell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

ZigBee and Arduino 57
About Arduino 57
Arduino Basics 59
Connecting to Arduino 65
Doorbell Projects 67
Parts 67
Prepare Your Radios 68
Connect Power from Arduino to Breadboard 68
XBee Breakout Board 68
XBee Connections 69
Doorbell Introduction 72
Switch Input... 72
...and Buzzer Output 73
Configure Your XBees 75
Program the Arduino Doorbell 77
Feedback Doorbell 80
Feedback Light 81
Program the Arduino Feedback Doorbell 81
Extra: Nap Doorbells and More 83

4. Ins and Outs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

The Story of Data 85
Direct, Indirect, Subtext 85
I/O Concepts 87
Why XBee Direct? 88

vi | Table of Contents
 XBee Direct Limitations 88
XBee I/O Features 89
AT Configuration I/O Commands 90
Advanced I/O Commands 93
Romantic Lighting Sensor 93
Basic Romantic Lighting Sensor 93
Prepare the Sensor Board 97
Prepare the Base Station 99
Romantic Lighting Sensor with Feedback 104
API Ahead 109

5. API and a Sensor Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

What’s an API? 111
Protocols 113
Humans 113
Computers 113
XBee API Protocol 116
Start Delimiter 117
Length Bytes 118
Frame Data Bytes 118
Checksum 118
API Frame Types 119
AT Commands 120
AT Responses 122
ZigBee Transmit Request 124
ZigBee Transmit Status 127
ZigBee Receive Packet 129
I/O Data Sample Rx Indicator 131
Remote AT Command Request 135
Remote Command Response 137
Using What You Need 138
Libraries 141
Simple Sensor Network 142
Parts 142
Prepare Your Coordinator Radio 143
Prepare Your Router Radios 144
Prepare the Sensor Boards 144
Prepare the Base Station 148
Program the Base Station 152
Yay! 160

6. Sleeping, Then Changing the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Sleep Mode 161

Table of Contents | vii

 End Devices 161
Configuring Sleep 163
Easy Sleeping 167
Simple Sensor with Sleep Project 167
Parts 168
Prepare Your End Device Radios 168
Configure Your End Device XBees 168
Direct Actuation 171
Direct Actuation Example 172
Parts 172
Prepare Your Coordinator Radio 173
Prepare Your Router Radios 174
Prepare the Actuator Boards 174
Configure Your Router XBees 174
Prepare the Base Station 177
Simple Actuator Node Code in Processing 180
Summary 187

7. Over the Borders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Gateways 189
XBee as Embedded Gateway 190
Other Embedded Gateways 190
Internet Gateways 192
Internet Media 194
Computers Versus Dedicated Devices 194
ConnectPorts 195
Selecting a ConnectPort 196
Setting Up a ConnectPort 197
Configuring a ConnectPort 198
Remote Management 203
iDigi Connectivity Server 204
iDigi Features 204
Adding a ConnectPort 206
Viewing Configurations 209
Firmware Updates and Remote Reboot 210
Viewing an XBee Network 212
XBee Internet Gateway (XIG) 214
Installing and Configuring XIG 216
Testing XIG 218
XIG Example 220
Twitter Reader 221
Parts 222
Prepare Your ConnectPort with XBee Internet Gateway 223

viii | Table of Contents

 Prepare Your Router Radio 223
Configure Your Router Radio 223
Prepare the Twitter Reader Board 224
Program the Arduino 227
Moving Forward 233

8. More to Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Advanced ZigBee 235
ZigBee Stack Layers 236
Application Support Layer 237
Routing 240
Security 242
ZigBee Protocol References 243
Serial Flow Control 244
RTS and CTS 244
Sharing Data 245
Pachube 245
Simple Sensor Network with Pachube 246
API Key 248
Build the Simple Sensor Network in Chapter 5 248
Program the Base Station 249
Simple Sensor Network Pachube Code in Processing 250
The Future of ZigBee 257
Next Steps for You 258
Making Stuff 258
Sharing Your Work 259

Appendix: Resource Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Table of Contents | ix