MULLE: a minimal sensor networking device : implementation and manufacturing challenges

Network connected sensors are today increasingly used in the industry. In cases where these sensors also are equipped with computational and ad-hoc networking capacity they can form a system for ambient intelligence. To make such a system cost-effective and easy to install it is important to avoid cabling, thus setting requirements for battery operation and wireless communication capacity. In this paper we discuss the perspectives of wireless networked sensors using standardized Internet communication. We also present the design of a minimal CPU / communication unit designed for this purpose. The size of a complete unit is (25x23x10) mm including battery supply. The use of advanced PCB manufacturing and bare die mounting techniques allows hosting of a Bluetooth chipset and a microcontroller, as well as a number of other SMD components. Onchip software includes a full web server, TCP/IP and Bluetooth communication stacks. The choices and design trade-offs for the system are discussed, and the future use together with compact ultrasound industrial sensors and health monitoring systems is briefly presented. Keywords—Embedded, Internet, EIS, Bluetooth, TCP/IP, sensor.

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