2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Abstract

Recent advances in wireless networks and electronics have led to the emergence of Wireless Sensor networks (WSNs). These networks consist of small battery–powered motors with limited computation and radio communication capabilities. Each sensor in a sensor network consists of three subsystems: the sensor subsystem which senses the environment, the processing subsystem which performs local computations on the sensed data, and the communication subsystem which is responsible for message exchanges with neighboring sensors. WSNs comprise tiny wireless computers that sense, process, and communicate environmental stimuli, including temperature, light, and vibration.

Educational excellence requires exposing students to the current edge of research. To ensure that student projects are along the same trajectory that the industry is moving, educators must continually introduce emerging techniques, practices, and applications into the curriculum. The field of wireless sensor networks is growing rapidly, and there is increasing interest in providing undergraduate students with a foundation in the area. It is crucial that the emerging field of wireless sensor networks be integrated into the undergraduate computer science and engineering curricula. This paper presents the details of two WSN projects that our undergraduate computer engineering students have done in their senior capstone course.