Management and security of remote sensor networks in hazardous environments using over the air programming

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) face many challenges including reliability, flexibility and security. When WSNs deployed in remote locations need to be reprogrammed, environmental conditions often make it impossible to physically retrieve them. Over the Air Programming (OAP) plays an important role in achieving this task. Additionally remote management of the WSN is crucial as it allows the user to monitor the download process. Cybersecurity of the WSN helps to ensure that the communication is properly authenticated. Several platform dependent protocols have been developed for OAP including Deluge and MOAP. Due to the restrictions of these platform-dependent protocols, any modifications to the hardware require modifications to the underlying protocol. For example, using OAP for iMote2 sensors requires porting Deluge from an existing hardware. We present the many challenges that we faced in making OAP possible on an iMote2 sensor network platform, including changes and upgrades to: file system management, Java toolbase and GUI implementation, reboot mechanism, robustness and boot loader. The performance of our OAP on the iMote2 platform is evaluated using a real sensor network along the completion time, overhead, and robustness dimensions.