SenseBox

This Article lists and describes processes of the SenseBox project.

SenseBox

The SenseBox is a generic soft- and hardware platform, based on the Arduino system. As a small computing device, it can be equipped with different sensors to perceive its environment. The access to the SenseBox through applications shall be as easily as possible. Hence, the Web of Things paradigm is applied, i.e., the SenseBox itself hosts a Web server and a REST API which makes it available as a first class citizen on the Web.

Concepts

The SenseBox is a sensorplatform which can control sensors and actuators to sense and modify the environment. The platform is based upon the open source prototyping platform Arduino. It offers a microcontroller which can be programmed indivually. The Arduino programming language is based upon Wiring and is basically C/C++. The prototyping platform is connected to a device which offers internet access, this can be a computer (this approach was used for the TrafficSenseBox) or a simple ethernet controller (like Arduino Ethernet Shield, this approach was introduced for the AgriSenseBox). There are also versions of Arduino-Platforms which offer an Ethernet-Controller build in.

The internet enabled device of the SenseBox uses the principles of the Web of Things (WoT). It offers a RESTful webservice which enables access to measured data. This can be the current dataset perceived by the sensors or a set of historic data. The data is enriched with metadata and is -as well as its metadata- machinereadable.

Hence the term SenseBox describes the combination of a microcontroller, capable of sensing and modifying its environment, and a device which offers access to the microcontroller as a RESTful Webservice.

Data measured by SenseBoxes can be harvested by services, for Instead to provide measured data as Linked Data. See this pdf.

Derivations / Offsprings

Derivations and Offspring of the SenseBox have been created in the past years.

1. TrafficSenseBox
2. AgriSenseBox
3. GIS Link to the Web Of Things
   1. GSoC2012ProjectsGisLinkTotheWoT - Google Summer of Code Project
   2. GeoServicesSenseBox - Rewritten and improved code of the GSOC project
4. SenseBox4SOS
5. AirQualitySenseBox

Code Repository

In general the developed sourcecode can be found in the 52N-SWE incubation repository

Internal Documentation

The inventory list can be found in the 52°North Intranet: https://wiki.52north.org/bin/view/Intranet/SenseBoxInventory

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• Topic created by: DustinDemuth
• Topic created on: 2012-10-16