Background data acquisition and carrying: the BlueDACS project

As an alternative to ad hoc wireless sensor networks, we propose to utilize the mobile devices that are carried by people who walk along the site on which the sensors are deployed. Each sensor establishes a wireless connection to a mobile station and transmits its current measurements. On encounters two mobile stations can exchange their data for increasing redundancy and likeliness of delivery. When a mobile station approaches the sensor network server, it unloads all data which is saved there in a data base, processed, and published in local or global networks. In this paper, we describe our realization of this approach, the communication mechanisms that have been developed for it, as well as its potential usage. This approach is mainly characterized by the smooth integration of an additional data service in existing work processes utilizing only commercial off-the-shelf components.