Approaching Wireless Sensor Networks Using Systematic Testing Strategies

Abstract

Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) applications today are hard to develop, often resulting in fragile systems with meager performance. We contribute to the coordinated development of WSN applications through the presentation of test and validation methods that allow for gradual refinement throughout the whole development flow. The methods described allow to systematically develop an application or part thereof while continuously and systematically integrating and testing the system under development. This approach is based on continuous integration with a special focus on networked embedded systems and their specific requirements concerning the testing architecture. Additionally a set of advanced metrics for the assessment of power traces are presented. The applicability of the tools and strategy presented is demonstrated using the showcase of a challenging environmental monitoring application.