Abstract

It is foreseen that in the near future, several Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) will be deployed to provide data and services to end user applications. WSN will play an important role in context aware applications and services, which adapt to situations of the surrounding environment and that of their host devices. However, conventional WSNs are built using proprietary protocols and use proprietary data access frameworks. They necessitate the presence of gateways or protocol converters between the WSN and application devices, and require special expertise from application developers. Further, dealing with heterogeneous sensor networks is difficult, as the protocols and data access mechanisms are different. There is a need to have a framework that is based on open standards to simplify application development and deal seamlessly with heterogeneous WSNs. This thesis proposes a Web Services based sinkless architecture for WSN as a potential solution. A prototype of an embedded web services platform is also built. It allows application devices to interact directly with the sensor nodes without going through a gateway. The thesis includes a survey and evaluation of several frameworks to highlight the potentials of web services. The use of Web Services will also attract a larger pool of application developers, leading to more innovative applications. Further, as the framework is built over IP, WSNs will no longer be treated as foreign islands. They will be part and parcel of ICT infrastructure in enterprises, as well as fit in easily in Value Added Services infrastructures for Next Generation Telecommunication Networks.