Contour Tracking: A Comprehensive Student Project for Sensor Network Education (original) (raw)

An activity-based sensor networks course for undergraduates with sun spot devices

ACM SIGCSE Bulletin, 2009

Wireless sensor networks are revolutionizing the instrumentation of the physical world, across scientific, industrial and military applications. In this paper, we describe our efforts developing and classroom-testing hands-on materials for use in undergraduateaccessible courses on sensor networks. In Winter 2008 at Portland State University, we introduced an in-class laboratory component to a sensor networks course that had previously been entirely lecture-based. For the laboratory exercises, we utilized Sun's Java-programmable Sun SPOT [7] sensor network technology. We found the Sun SPOT based laboratory activities to be quite powerful as a teaching and excitement-fostering tool.

Work In Progress: Teaching Wireless Sensor Networks Through Laboratory Experiments

2010

Wireless communications is becoming a transparent technology with which incoming college students most certainly have vast firsthand experience as users. Wireless Sensors Network Communications often proves to be a quite challenging subject to teach because many students appear to find the subject too technical. In this paper, we present some undergoing capstone design projects and laboratory experiments to provide the students of wireless communication and networking with a hands-on experience. The motivation of this approach is twofold. First, the projects pertain to the area of wireless sensor networks where rapid technological changes in wireless sensing devices have changed the types of work electrical and computer-engineering students are likely to do in their careers. Second, student groups come up with their own project applications and problem statements for which to design a system.

An experimental wireless sensor network applied in engineering courses

Computer Applications in …, 2009

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are an emerging technology based on the progress of electrical and mechanical engineering, as well as computer science in the last decade. This paper presents our experiences in designing and developing a WSN using commercial-off-the-shelf components and assembled in-house. This WSN is used as a support tool for teaching in undergraduate engineering programs in Electronic and Computing, providing students a hands-on experience with emphasis on embedded software design. ß

A technology-assisted scavenger hunt for introducing K-12 students to sensor networks

2011

Sensor networks serve as a powerful recruiting vehicle to excite and engage students in socially-relevant applications of computing. In this paper, we describe a technology-assisted scavenger hunt for introducing young learners -from grade school through high school-to sensor networks and computer science. The desired outcome is to expand students' content knowledge and positively impact their impressions of the discipline. We describe the outreach program and present promising evaluation results across three pilots involving 5 th graders, 7 th graders, and 11 th graders.

An educational tool for wireless sensor networks

Computer Applications in Engineering Education, 2010

The present paper introduces a tool, which simplifies the description of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) applications by means of a visual language and automatic generation of executable code. The tool has been used to provide non-experienced students with a practical introduction to WSN concepts in a short period of time. Using the tool allowed students to quickly develop their own applications and test with them, focusing on their functional aspects rather than on programming and platform-dependent matters. This has yielded good results in the adaptation to the new European Higher Education Area (EHEA) envisaged by the Bologna Process, promoting an increased role of students in education as well as improving their motivation. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 20: 692–701, 2012

Making sens: science education networks of sensors

Workshop of the …, 2003

A small group of leaders from research, industry, and education convened in a one-day workshop at Stanford's Center for Innovations in Learning (SCIL) to brainstorm on the use of data probes, sensors, and communication technologies in the development of innovative science education curricula. This report documents the results of a morning brainstorm and afternoon group exercises developing educational scenarios for which sensor networks would be powerful in enhancing learning content and promoting engagement in middle school, high school and college science. We are grateful to all of the creative contributors for the their efforts to explore these new frontiers and encourage readers of this report to join in making the visions that excite them in this report real. We would like to thank David Sibbet, President of Grove Consultants (http://grove.com/) for his superb rapid visualization of emerging concepts, trends, relationships and other diagrams throughout the day. These images, captured in real time during the group's work, populate the pages along with gently edited conversational contributions from the workshop's participants.

A Novel Interdisciplinary Sensor Networks Laboratory

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings

J. Mullett presently teaches in the Electronics Group at Springfield Technical Community College in Springfield, MA. A long time faculty member and consultant to local business and industry, Mullett has provided leadership and initiated numerous curriculum reforms as either the Chair or Co-Department Chair of the four technology degree programs that constitute the Electronics Group. Since the late 1990s, he has been active in the NSF's ATE and CCLI programs as a knowledge leader in the wireless telecommunications field. A co-founder of the National Center for Telecommunications Technologies (NCTT) located at STCC, Mullett also played a principle role in the development of the innovative and long running Verizon NextStep employee training program. The author of two text books, Basic Telecommunications-The Physical Layer and Wireless Telecommunications Systems and Networks, Mullett did both his undergraduate and graduate work in the ECE Department at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where he also taught the undergraduate sequence of courses in electromagnetics. He has presented at numerous regional and national conferences and also internationally on telecommunications and wireless topics and on the status of the education of electronics technicians at the two-year college level. His current interests are in the transformation of electronics technician education to incorporate a systems-level approach and the emerging field of networked, wireless sensors. Yakov Cherner, ATeL, LLC YAKOV E. CHERNER, Ph.D., is the Founder and President of ATEL, LLC. He combines over 25 years of teaching experience with extensive experience in writing curricula and developing educational software and efficient instructional strategies. Dr. Cherner develops new concepts and simulation-based e-learning tools for STEM education that use real-world objects, processes and learning situations as the context for science, engineering and technology investigations. He also proposed and implemented the pioneering concept of integrated adjustable virtual laboratories and designed easy-to-use authoring tools to create such labs. Dr. Cherner holds an MS in Experimental Physics, and Ph.D. in Physics and Materials Science. He has published over 80 papers in national and international journals and made dozens of presentations at various national and international conferences and workshops. Dr. Cherner has served as a Principal Investigator for several government-funded educational projects. Edward Bigos, Springfield Technical Community College Edward Bigos, a professor of Electronics/Computer Systems Engineering Technology and Co-Department Chair, presently teaches introductory and advanced computer and networking technology courses for the Electronics Group at Springfield Technical Community College located in Springfield, MA. An active consultant to local business and industry, Bigos provides leadership to the highly successful Computer Systems Engineering Technology program through curriculum reform and course development activities. His current interests are in the area of operating systems, computer and networking security, and sensor networks. Ted Sussmann, Springfield Technical Community College Ted Sussmann, Ph.D., an assistant professor of Civil Engineering Technology and Department Chair, presently teaches in the Civil Engineering Technology and Construction Management programs at Springfield Technical Community College located in Springfield, MA. Sussmann did both his undergraduate and graduate work at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. His current interests are in the area of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the development of instrumentation and sensors for the investigation of techniques to improve the nation's railway transportation system.

Interactive Tools for Learning Sensor Network Basics

Wireless sensor networks consist of autonomous intelligent sensor nodes, usually powered by battery, which can measure certain characteristics of their environment, such as temperature, pressure, moisture, acceleration, etc. These sensor nodes communicate by radio with their neighbours to forward data to a central collection points from where it is sent to some analysis centre via the Internet. The use of batteries and radio communications minimizes the cost of such a measurement system. Wireless sensor networks have a broad range of applications: climate monitoring, flood prevention, seismic monitoring, early detection of bush fires, etc. A major concern is the lifetime of batteries. As most of the energy is used for radio transmis-sion, many research efforts have focused on the development of communication protocols that minimize power. Many masters students are interested in wireless sensor networks as a research topic for their thesis, but don't know enough about it to make ...