An Open Conformance Test System towards the Standardization of Wireless Sensor Networks

The conformance testing on the wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is fundamental for the functional large-scale deployment and interconnection with the global Internet. The WSN protocols based on the Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) are the major trends of the future applications, which include IEEE 802.15.4, 6LoWPAN, and RPL. These protocols are not only diverse for various applications, but also volatile in the future. Moreover, sensor nodes are resource constrained, application related and lack the standardized test interface. Hence the corresponding conformance testing is seriously insufficient and needs urgently research. In this paper, the IPv6-based WSN protocols are analyzed and the conformance testing techniques and methods for IPv6-based WSNs are investigated towards the standardization of WSNs. A novel conformance test system for IPv6-based WSNs is designed and implemented, which is open, flexible, full featured, and practical. The conformance test system is suitable for the protocol evolution and the various hardware interfaces for the sensor nodes. The related outcomes will promote the standardization and commercialization of WSNs. © 2012 Zhonghua Zhao et al.