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Sun SPOT

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, seeSunspot (disambiguation).
Sun SPOTs beside an AA battery

Sun SPOT(Sun Small Programmable Object Technology) was asensor nodefor awireless sensor networkdeveloped bySun Microsystemsannounced in 2007. The device used theIEEE 802.15.4standard for its networking, and unlike other available sensor nodes, used theSquawkJava virtual machine.

After the acquisition of Sun Microsystems byOracle Corporation,the SunSPOT platform was supported but its forum was shut down in 2012.[1]A mirror of the old site is maintained for posterity.[2]

Hardware[edit]

The completely assembled device fit in the palm of a hand.

Its first processor board included anARM architecture32 bit CPU withARM920T corerunning at 180 MHz. It had 512 KB RAM and 4 MBflash memory.A 2.4 GHzIEEE 802.15.4radio had an integrated antenna and aUSBinterface was included.[3]

A sensor board included a three-axisaccelerometer(with 2G and 6G range settings), temperature sensor, light sensor, 8 tri-color LEDs, analog and digital inputs, two momentary switches, and 4 high current output pins.[3]

The unit used a 3.7V rechargeable 750 mAhlithium-ion battery,had a 30 uA deep sleep mode, and battery management provided by software.[3]

Software[edit]

The device's use of Java device drivers is unusual since Java is generally hardware-independent. Sun SPOT uses a smallJava MESquawkwhich ran directly on the processor without anoperating system.Both the Squawk VM and the Sun SPOT code are open source.[4] Standard Java development environments such asNetBeanscan be used to create SunSPOT applications. The management and deployment of application are handled by ant scripts, which can be called from a development environment, command line, or the tool provided with the SPOT SDK, "solarium".[citation needed]

The nodes communicate using theIEEE 802.15.4standard including the base-station approach to sensor networking. Protocols such asZigbeecan be built on 802.15.4. Sun Labs reported implementations ofRSAandelliptic curve cryptography(ECC) optimized for small embedded devices.

Availability[edit]

Sun Microsystems Laboratoriesstarted research onsensor networksaround 2004. After some initial experience using "Motes" fromCrossbow Technology,a project began under Roger Meike to design an integrated hardware and software system.[5] Sun sponsored a project at theArt Center College of Designcalled Autonomous Light Air Vessels in 2005.[6] The first limited-production run of Sun SPOT development kits were released April 2, 2007, after months of delays. This introduction kit included two Sun SPOT demo sensor boards, a Sun SPOT base station, the software development tools, and a USB cable. The software was compatible with Windows XP, Mac OS X 10.4, and common Linux distributions. Some demonstration code was provided.[citation needed]

A developer from Sun gave a demonstration in September 2007.[3] After investigating commercial use, Sun moved to focus on educational users. The entire project, hardware, operating environment, Java virtual machine, drivers and applications, was available as open source in January 2008.[4][7][8]

Oracle Corporationacquired Sun Microsystems in 2010 and continued Sun SPOT development, through release 8 of the hardware (with Sun-Oracle logo) by March 2011.[9] The 2011 version included larger memories and a faster processor, but with fewer inputs.[10]

In 2012 the forum said it would be "down for maintenance" until "mid-June".[1]A new forum was started on the Oracle Technology Network on May 7, 2013.[11] David G. Simmons, one of the SunSPOT developers for Sun Microsystems, maintained a blog through the end of 2010.[12] He opened an alternative developers forum in July 2013 not connected to Oracle.[13]

When the project was shut down, the lead hardware engineer for the SunSPOT project, Bob Alkire, archived the hardware design on his personal website.[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ab"The SunSpotWorld Forums are down for maintenance".Oracle Labs.Archivedfrom the original on June 9, 2012.RetrievedNovember 17,2013.
  2. ^"SunSpotWorld Mirror Site".
  3. ^abcdSimon Ritter (September 24, 2007)."Sun SPOTs In Action".Archived fromthe originalon April 20, 2008.RetrievedNovember 17,2013.Republished in February 2011ArchivedApril 6, 2014, at theWayback Machine
  4. ^ab"spots: SPOTs project".Archived fromthe originalon 2011-05-27.
  5. ^Rob Tow."Sun" SPOT "Wireless Sensor Networks".Personal web page.RetrievedNovember 17,2013.
  6. ^Jed Berk and Nikhil Mitter (2006)."Autonomous Light Air Vessels".RetrievedNovember 17,2013.
  7. ^Austin Modine (January 29, 2008)."Sun open sources doohickeys: Tiny, sensor-driven devices exposed".The Register.RetrievedNovember 17,2013.
  8. ^"Sun Brings Innovative Sun Small Programmable Object Technology (SPOT) Sensors to Open Source Community; Expands Program to Educational Institutions Around the Globe".Press release.Sun Microsystems. January 29, 2008. Archived fromthe originalon February 3, 2008.RetrievedNovember 17,2013.
  9. ^Ron Goldman (March 19, 2011)."Spots: Wiki: Home — Project Kenai".Project web site.RetrievedNovember 17,2013.
  10. ^"SunSPOTWorld - Purchase".Commercial web site.Archived fromthe originalon December 7, 2013.RetrievedNovember 17,2013.
  11. ^SunSPOT forum at Oracle Technology NetworkArchivedNovember 3, 2013, at theWayback Machine
  12. ^"On the SPOT: David G. Simmons".Blog.Archived fromthe originalon May 9, 2012.RetrievedNovember 17,2013.
  13. ^"Sun SPOTs Forums".Alternative non-official developers forum.RetrievedNovember 17,2013.
  14. ^Bob Alkire."SPOTs Hardware".Retrieved14 March2019.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sun_SPOT&oldid=1165782579"