An open-source wireless mesh networking module for environmental monitoring

Wireless mesh networking extends the communication range among cooperating multiple low-power wireless radio transceivers and is useful for collecting data from sensors widely distributed over a large area. By integrating an off-the-shelf wireless design, such as the XBee module, development of sensor systems with mesh networking capability can be accelerated. In this study, the design of an open-source wireless network module is introduced, which integrates the functions of network discovery, routing control, and transmission scheduling. In addition, this design is provided in an open-source format in order to promote the use of wireless mesh networking for environmental monitoring applications. Testing of the design and the proposed networking module is reported. For a 10-node implementation an average packet delivery ratio is 95.58%. The proposed system was demonstrated to have the advantages of low-cost combined with high reliability and performance. The proposed design can aid scientists to implement monitoring applications without the complications of complex wireless networking issues.