Educational platform for developing high-performance sensor nodes around a DSP core

The paper presents an architecture of a wireless sensor node on which students can develop high-performance applications for ubiquitous sensor networks. A digital signal processor (DSP) was used for signal processing, an audio codec for data acquisition and a 802.11 g wireless access point for communication. The entire network Was approached initially as a Voice over IP (VoIP) mobile network, yet the information exchanged wasn't voice but measures and commands with Quality of Service (QoS) inherited from VoIP. The usage of mature technologies of audio codecs and wireless LANs assured a high performance and cost efficient solution for mobile sensor networks. The platform's modularity and flexibility allow its usage for many applicative didactical activities and also in research, as logistic support for developing complex projects.