Building Wireless Sensor Network Applications with LooCI

Considerable research has been performed in applying run-time reconfigurable component models to the domain of wireless sensor networks. The ability to dynamically deploy and reconfigure software components has clear advantages in sensor networks, which are typically large in scale and expected to operate for long periods in the face of node mobility, dynamic environmental conditions, and changing application requirements. LooCI is a component and binding model that is optimized for use in resource-constrained environments such as Wireless Sensor Networks. LooCI components use a novel event-based binding model that allows developers to model rich component interactions, while providing support for run-time reconfiguration, reflection, and policy-based management. This paper reports on the design of LooCI and describes a prototype implementation for the Sun SPOT. This platform is then evaluated in context of a real-world river monitoring and warning scenario in the city of São Carlos, Brazil.