Wireless Sensor Network Components

The NI Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) system is built on an IEEE 802.15.4 wireless mesh network. The 802.15.4 radio in each NI WSN device provides for low-power communication of measurement data across a large network of devices. NI-WSN software builds on top of that to provide network configuration and reliable communication from the host PC or Programmable Automation Controller (PAC) to the NI WSN-32xx node devices.



A wireless sensor network (WSN) is a wireless network consisting of spatially distributed autonomous devices that use sensors to monitor physical or environmental conditions. These autonomous devices, known as routers and end nodes, combine with a gateway to create a typical WSN system. The distributed measurement nodes communicate wirelessly to a central gateway, which acts as the network coordinator in charge of node authentication, message buffering, and bridging from the IEEE 802.15.4 wireless network to the wired Ethernet network. where you can collect, process, analyze, and present your measurement data. Figure 1 shows a typical NI Wireless Sensor Network, in which the three WSN measurement nodes are configured as end nodes.