Enabling modular plug&play wireless sensor and actuator network nodes: Software architecture

The implementation of the Internet of Things (IoT) concept introduces fundamentally novel challenges not only at the network level, but also in regards to the design of the devices. In order to enable easy and effective implementation of the new IoT devices earlier we have proposed a modular platform featuring Plug-and-Play (P&P) module connectivity. The nodes are assembled out of the hardware modules encapsulating various peripherals, such as power supply and processing units, transceivers, sensors and actuators, etc. Once a node is built, all the connected peripherals are identified and the operation of the node is optimized accordingly. In this work we present the second component of our solution, i.e. the software intended to operate on top of the highly dynamic hardware. In the paper we first discuss the principal challenges and requirements for such software, then introduce and describe in details our software architecture, and finally report the initial results of its implementation. The lessons learned and the major challenges for the future are summarized in the conclusion.