Multi-purpose embedded communication gateway : system design and testbed implementation

Abstract

This dissertation revolves around developing a multi-purpose embedded communication gateway. The gateway is equipped with multiple communication interfaces including Ethernet, Bluetooth, WiFi, Zigbee, LTE, and it can be configured and utilized for many purposes, such as a failover of an Ethernet cable via 4G in order to maintain the network connectivity. Raspberry Pi circuit board and the operating system Raspbian are selected as the hardware and the software platforms respectively. Different communication interfaces are coordinated by the Raspberry Pi and are configured via Linux scripts according to various use cases. Furthermore, a hardware watchdog is adopted to enhance the availability of system. In addition, the system is encapsulated into a box to increase its portability. The system is validated and evaluated through rigorous test-bed experiments. Experiment results indicate that the developed router works smoothly and reliably in environments with little electrical disturbances.