Model-based development for MAC protocols in industrial wireless sensor networks

Abstract

Model-Driven Software Engineering (MDSE) is an approach for design and implementation of software applications, that can be applied across multiple domains. The advantages include rapid prototyping and implementation, along with reduction in errors induced by humans in the process, via automation. Wireless Sensor Actuator Networks (WSANs) rely on resource-constrained hardware and have platform-specific implementations. Medium Access Control (MAC) protocols in particular are mainly responsible for radio communication, the biggest consumer of energy, and are also responsible for Quality of Service (QoS). The design and development of protocols for WSAN could benefit from the use of MDSE. In this article, we use Coloured Petri Nets (CPN) for platform independent modeling of protocols, initial verification, and simulation. The PetriCode tool is used to generate platform-specific implementations for multiple platforms, including MiXiM for simulation and TinyOS for deployment. Further the generated code is analyzed via network simulations and real-world deployment test. Through the process of MDSE-based code generation and analysis, the protocol design is validated, verified and analyzed. We use the GinMAC protocol as a running example to illustrate the design and development life cycle.