Quick Start Guide๐
The Wirepas Mesh Demo showcases the primary capabilities of a Wirepas Mesh network using sensor nodes that transmit temperature values and events triggered by pressing buttons to a sink. You can observe and control the demo using a web application running in your default browser.
It is developed in collaboration with Symbiotech.
The following sections guide you through the setup process and provide an overview of the web application functionalities.
Demo Kit Preparation๐
The demo kit consists of 4 sensor nodes, 4 coin cell batteries and one sink.
The following steps are necessary to prepare the devices.
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Unpack the demo kit.
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Connect the sink to your PC using a USB-C cable.
LED1 turns on.
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Insert a coin cell battery into the battery holder of each sensor node.
LED1 turns off after the node has connected to the sink.
The following steps are necessary to prepare the software part.
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Download the software from the Symbiotech website. Please note that there are different versions for different operating systems available. For Windows, please download
Wirepas_Mesh_Demo_1_0_win64.exe
. -
Unzip the downloaded file.
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Start the demo application by executing
Wirepas_Mesh_Demo_1_0_win64.exe
, which is located in the unzipped folder. -
In case your operating system prevents the start of the software, you may have to approve the execution. This may look differently on your system.
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If you run the demo application for the first time, a command prompt opens and shows the license agreement text.
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Press Enter until it asks to accept the license agreement with Y + Enter.
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Afterwards the command prompt show the connection procedure for the connected sink.
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While running the command prompt displays verbose measurement data and log information that is received from the connected sink.
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In parallel a web application is launched in your default browser.
Demo Kit Web Application๐
1
Sensor node tiles
For each connected sensor node you can find a tile in this area.
2
Mesh network topology
This illustrates the arrangement of the current mesh network, where nodes are interlinked, showing the decentralized and resilient communication structure.
3
Connection status
You can see the sink connection status here.
4
Network details button
Shows a pop up window with information about the Network address, the Network channel, the Encryption key and the Authentication key.
5
Sensor node ID
It's the unique ID for each sensor node.
6
Sensor role
You can see here which power mode the sensor node currently uses. For more information see Power Modes.
7
Last message indicator
Shows you when the last message for that sensor node was received.
8
Last button press indicator
The last button press indicator lets you know when the latest button press event was received.
9
Last PIR trigger indicator
The PIR trigger informs you when the most recent motion detection event was triggered. For this feature you need to assemble a Panasonic PIR sensor of your choice.
10
Battery voltage level
The battery voltage level shows you the current level of the battery's voltage, keeping you informed about its power status.
11
Temperature value chart
The temperature value chart gives you a visual representation of the recorded temperature values, helping you track and understand temperature changes over time.
12
LED switch
This switch controls the LED on the nodes.
Temperature / Humidity Value Measurement๐
The sensor nodes capture and send out temperature and humidity values every 8 seconds. The temperature values are shown on the temperature value chart in the web application. The humidity values can be accessed through the logs in the command prompt.
The time it takes for the sensor value messages to travel through the mesh network depends on the network topology and power mode configuration of each node along the message path.
If every node is set to the Low Latency mode, the message will arrive almost instantly. However, if there are sensor nodes configured with the Low Power mode along the route, it can take up to an additional 8 seconds per node for the message to traverse the network.
For more detailed information about the message routing visit the Wirepas developer site.
Button / PIR Event Triggers๐
Beside the temperature and humidity values, you can trigger events by pressing the button S1 on a sensor node. The last message received time can be seen on last button press indicator 8.
Also a PIR trigger event can be triggered when you assemble a PIR to the sensor node. The message transport time is the same as described in the Temperature / Humidity Value Measurement. The last message received time can be seen on last PIR trigger indicator 9.
Assembling a PIR Sensor๐
Assembling a PIR sensor to the sensor nodes affects the current consumption of the devices.
For devices mainly running in Low Power Mode, the EKMB1309113K is a good choice, because it features a low current consumption of 6ยตA in standby.
For devices mainly running in Low Latency Mode, the EKMC1609113 is a good choice, because it features low latency at the expense of the current consumption, because it consumes 170ยตA in standby.
The following image shows the soldering points on which the PIR sensor is to be mounted.
LED Control๐
To show you the capability to also send data from the sink to the individual sensor node you can switch on and off LED1 on each sensor node individually.
For that you only need to click on LED switch 12. The message transport time is the same like described in Temperature / Humidity Value Measurement.