Wireless sensor and actuator network systems (WSAN) are built on a broad range of sensor platforms and low level programming languages. Such systems are potentially useful for a myriad of applications, from different domains. Thus, developers need to deal with details of different platforms and programming abstractions of sensor operational systems, and they also need to have specific knowledge on the distinct domains. In this context, we propose LWiSSy, a domain specific language (DSL) to model WSAN systems whose main goals are to allow (i) domain experts to directly contribute in the development of WSANs without having knowledge on low level sensor platforms, and (ii) network experts to program sensor nodes to meet application needs without having specific knowledge on the application domain. We describe how to develop WSAN systems using LWiSSy and analyze the impact of its usage through an experiment.
As wireless sensor and actuator networks (WSANs) can be used in many different domains, WSAN applications have to be built from two viewpoints: domain and network. These different viewpoints create a gap between the abstractions handled by the application developers, namely the domain and network experts. Furthermore, there is a coupling between the application logic and the underlying sensor platform, which results in platform-dependent projects and source codes difficult to maintain, modify, and reuse. Consequently, the process of developing an application becomes cumbersome. In this paper, we propose a modeldriven architecture (MDA) approach for WSAN application development. Our approach aims to facilitate the task of the developers by: (1) enabling application design through high abstraction level models; (2) providing a specific methodology for developing WSAN applications; and (3) offering an MDA infrastructure composed of PIM, PSM, and transformation programs to support this process. Our approach Communicated by Prof. allows the direct contribution of domain experts in the development of WSAN applications, without requiring specific knowledge of programming WSAN platforms. In addition, it allows network experts to focus on the specific characteristics of their area of expertise without the need of knowing each specific application domain.
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