"Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems". Invited talk presented at the 2nd meeting of the Wireless Sensing Interest Group (WiSIG). National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, UK. 27 September 2006.

1. Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems
Wireless Sensing Interest Group Meeting
National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, UK
27th September 2006
Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked
Embedded Systems
Manish Lad
UCL Department of Computer Science
University College London

2. Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems
Emergency in a road tunnel

3. Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems
Challenges facing emergency services
• Location
– Accurately pin-point the exact location of the scene
• Information
– Environmental conditions within the tunnel
• Communication
– Between the rescue teams both inside and outside the tunnel
• Difficult in the enclosed environment of the tunnel

4. Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems
RUNES
Reconfigurable Ubiquitous Networked
Embedded Systems
To provide a standardised architecture that enables the creation
of large-scale, widely-distributed, heterogeneous networked
embedded systems that inter-operate and adapt to their
environments

5. Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems
A network of embedded devices
• Tunnel wall
– Sensor devices
– Multi-radio routing devices
• Tunnel opening
– Multi-radio routing gateways
• Vehicles
– Sensor devices
– Multi-radio routing devices
• Emergency Services
– Sensor devices
– PDAs
– Multi-radio routing devices
Tmote Sky
Sensor Device
connectBlue
multi-radio
gateway
Lippert multi-
radio
gateway

6. Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems
The limitations of embedded systems
• Resources
– Power
– Processing
– Storage
• Inter-communication
– Heterogeneity
– Transience
• Reconfigurability
– Mobility
– Loss/Damage

7. Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems
A lightweight solution
• Platforms
– Contiki Operating System - using lightweight stackless threads
– FreeRTOS - open source, mini Real Time Kernel
– DENX Embedded Linux Development Kit (ELDK)
• Communication protocol stack
– µIP, µAODV
– Compatible with existing protocol stacks
• Middleware kernel
– Component model and associated API
• Predictability and Control
– Control loops

8. Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems
Middleware architecture
Application/Middleware Components
Middleware Kernel API
Platform-specific
Kernel Implementation
Platform-specific
Kernel Implementation
Platform-specific
Kernel Implementation
Contiki FreeRTOS
Gateway device
Linux
Gateway device
Component-based
Middleware
Hardware and RF
Sensor device
Environment

9. Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems
The RUNES middleware
• Component Model Design
– Defines components as basic run-time units
– Enables components to be instantiated at run-time
– Functionality provided by components through interfaces
– Dependancies expressed through receptacles
– Receptacle/Interface binding made with connector components
• Component Run-time Kernel Implementations
– Java
– C/Unix
– C/Contiki

10. Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems
Middleware components
• Data acquisition
– Measurement component
• Obtain environmental readings on sensor devices
• Data dissemination
– Notification component
• Disseminate sensor readings to control centre
– Publish-Subscribe infrastructure
• Component to disseminate sensor readings through broadcast
• Mechanism to enable broadcast sensor readings to be shared

11. Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems
Application of the middleware

12. Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems
Pin-pointing location
• µIP and µAODV
• Overcome transience,
damage and loss
• Routing reconfiguration
– Re-route data around broken
sensor devices

13. Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems
Extracting information
• Environmental conditions
– Temperature
– Humidity
– Visibility
• Data dissemination
• Reporting conditions to
control centre

14. Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems
Communicating to co-ordinate rescue efforts
• Publish relevant data to
emergency services
• Share and propagate data
among firefighters

15. Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems
Small-scale demonstration – June 2006

16. Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems
Upcoming demonstrations
• Mobile Ad-hoc and Sensor Systems (MASS 2006)
– IEEE International Conference
– Vancouver, Canada
– 9–12 October 2006
• IST Event 2006
– European Information Society Technologies Conference
– Helsinki, Finland
– 21–23 November 2006

17. Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems
IST 2006
Tunnel
controller
view
Emergency command view
Fire fighter view
Tunnel view Tunnel environment map Key event
RUNES Video
Printed
RUNES
scene
Tunnel model
Tunnel
sensor
network

18. Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems
Summary
• A component-based middleware architecture
• Addresses fundamental challenges through
– Lightweight platform and protocol implementations
– Dynamically reconfigurable middleware architecture
• Incorporates capabilities to
– Cope with the failure of devices and communication links
– Reconfigure automatically to deal with a changing environment
– Discover available resources and communication paths

19. Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems
References
• Conference publications:
– Geoff Coulson, Manish Lad, Richard Gold, Cecilia Mascolo, Luca Mottola, Gian Pietro
Picco, Stefanos Zachariadis. Dynamic Reconfiguration in the RUNES Middleware.
Proc. of the Third International Conference on Mobile Ad-Hoc and Sensor Systems
(MASS 2006). IEEE Press, Vancouver, Canada. October 2006.
– Paolo Costa, Geoff Coulson, Cecilia Mascolo, Gian Pietro Picco and Stefanos
Zachariadis. The RUNES Middleware: A Reconfigurable Component-based
Approach to Networked Embedded Systems. Proc. of the 16th Annual IEEE
International Symposium on Personal Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications
(PIMRC'05). Berlin, Germany, 11-14 Sept. 2005.
• Submitted for publication:
– Paolo Costa, Geoff Coulson, Richard Gold, Manish Lad, Cecilia Mascolo, Luca Mottola,
Gian Pietro Picco, Thirunavukkarasu Sivaharan, Nirmal Weerasinghe, and Stefanos
Zachariadis. The RUNES Middleware for Networked Embedded Systems and its
Application in a Disaster Management Scenario.

20. Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems
Acknowledgements
• Reconfigurable Ubiquitous Networked Embedded Systems (RUNES), Supported
by the Information Society Technologies (IST) Framework Programme 6 (FP6).
http://www.ist-runes.org
• The work described in this presentation is the result of the efforts of the large and
enthusiastic RUNES project team
• Road Tunnel Emergency images supplied by FreeFoto.com
http://www.freefoto.com, and BBC news http://news.bbc.co.uk
• Embedded device images from moteiv http://www.moteiv.com, connectBlue
http://www.connectblue.se, and Lippert http://www.lippert-at.com
• Application of the middleware architecture diagram by Luca Mottola, Dipartimento
di Elettronica ed Informazione, Politecnico di Milano, Italy

21. Challenges of Resource-Constrained Networked Embedded Systems
RUNES Partners
Industrial
Academic
Non-profit research institutes