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181 lines
7.4 KiB
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Ben-WPAN Overview
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<H1>Ben-WPAN Overview</H1>
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Ben-WPAN is a hardware and software effort within the
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<A href="http://en.qi-hardware.com/wiki/Main_Page">Qi-Hardware</A> project.
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The objective is to enable the
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<A href="http://en.qi-hardware.com/wiki/Ben_NanoNote">Ben NanoNote</A>
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to communicate wirelessly using IEEE 802.15.4-based protocols.
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<BR>
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All elements of the project are licensed
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under open licenses, such as the GPLv2+, LGPLv2.1+, and CC-BY-SA 3.0.
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Furthermore, only Free tools were used for the electronic design,
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such as the
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GPL-licensed <A href="http://www.lis.inpg.fr/realise_au_lis/kicad/">Kicad</A>.
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<BR>
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This page is a brief summary. For background information and further
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details, please visit the
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<A href="http://en.qi-hardware.com/wiki/Ben_WPAN">wiki page</A>.
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<P>
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A first run of <B>atben</B> and <B>atusb</B> boards has been produced
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by <A href="http://www.tuxbrain.com/en">Tuxbrain S.L.</A> and is available
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for sale.
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<P>
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<TABLE>
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<TR>
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<TD><A href="800px-Atben_atusb_prod_03.jpg"><IMG
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src="atben-pcba-small.jpg"></A>
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<TD><A href="800px-Atben_atusb_prod_07.jpg"><IMG
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src="atben-use-small.jpg"></A>
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<TD><A href="800px-Atben_atusb_prod_05.jpg"><IMG
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src="atusb-pcba-small.jpg"></A>
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<TD><A href="zoom.html"><IMG
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src="atusb-use-small.jpg"></A>
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<TR bgcolor="#d0d0d0">
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<TH colspan="2">atben (for the Ben NanoNote)
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<TH colspan="2">atusb (Full-Speed USB)
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</TABLE>
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<H2>Hardware</H2>
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Both boards are based on the Atmel
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<A href="http://www.atmel.com/dyn/products/product_card.asp?part_id=4338">
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AT86RF231</A> transceiver. They operate in the license-free 2.4 GHz band
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using the
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<A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.15.4">IEEE 802.15.4</A>
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physical and link layer.
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<BR>
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Note that IEEE 802.15.4 is different from
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<A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11">IEEE 802.11</A> (WLAN)
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and <A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth">IEEE 802.15.1</A>
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(Bluetooth).
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<P>
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Both boards transmit with a maximum power of 2 mW (+3 dBm) over a
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distance of up to about 10 m in a typical indoors environment.
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<BR>
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The standard data rate of IEEE 802.15.4 is 250 kbps. The transceiver
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supports non-standard rates of up to 2 Mbps, with a reduced range.
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<H2>Compatibility</H2>
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<B>atben</B> and <B>atusb</B> can communicate at the physical and link
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layer with any device that implements the
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<A href="http://standards.ieee.org/getieee802/download/802.15.4-2006.pdf">IEEE
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802.15.4-2006 standard</A> for the 2.4 GHz band.
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<BR>
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This includes <B>atben</B> with <B>atusb</B>, <B>atben</B> with <B>atben</B>,
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etc. There are
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<A href="http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/linux-zigbee/wiki/HardwareSupport">many
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more</A> IEEE 802.15.4 devices, which should also interoperate with the
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Ben-WPAN boards.
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<P>
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<B>atben</B> plugs into the Ben's
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<A href="http://lists.en.qi-hardware.com/pipermail/discussion/2011-January/006908.html">8:10 card</A> slot.
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Note that it is <U>not</U> an SDIO card.
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<P>
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<B>atusb</B> is designed for USB 2.0 Full-Speed and has an USB A connector.
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The host needs suitable drivers for the board.
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<H2>Software</H2>
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The ultimate goal is to fully support IPv6 with
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<A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6LoWPAN">6LoWPAN</A>, in
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cooperation with the
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<A href="http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/linux-zigbee/">linux-zigbee</A>
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project. This work is still in progress and may take a while.
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<P>
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To make use of the boards while working on IPv6, we have developed a quick
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and dirty tunnelling mechanism for IPv4. A video demonstrating its use
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can be seen
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<A href="http://downloads.qi-hardware.com/people/werner/wpan/tmp/wpan-ipv4.ogg">here</A>.
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<P>
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<B>atben</B> has no local "intelligence" and its SPI interface is
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bit-banged directly by the Ben.
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<BR><B>atusb</B> uses an
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Atmel
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<A href="http://www.atmel.com/dyn/products/product_card.asp?part_id=4602">
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ATmega32U2</A> microcontroller to interface between USB and SPI with
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a homebrewn protocol on top of USB.
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<BR>
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The firmware includes a boot loader allowing easy firmware updates in the
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field with the
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<A href="http://www.usb.org/developers/devclass_docs/DFU_1.1.pdf">DFU</A>
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protocol.
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<BR>
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This boot loader occupies 4 kB of the 32 kB of Flash memory in
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<B>atusb</B>. The "application" uses another 6 kB. Developers
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wishing to extend or replace the firmware thus have between 22 and
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28 kB available for experiments.
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<P>
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While not an immediate project goal, it may be possible to
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write firmware for <B>atusb</B> that turns it into a transparent
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gateway for legacy operating systems and protocols.
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<H2>Status and resources</H2>
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Here is an overview of the status of the various project elements:
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<P>
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<TABLE>
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<TR bgcolor="#d0d0d0"><TH>Element<TH>Status<TH>Links
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<TR><TH align="left">Schematics<TD bgcolor="#80ff80" align="center">Done
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<TD><A href="http://projects.qi-hardware.com/schhist/atben/">atben</A>,
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<A href="http://projects.qi-hardware.com/schhist/atusb/">atusb</A>
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<TR><TH align="left">Layout<TD bgcolor="#80ff80" align="center">Done
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<TD><A href="http://downloads.qi-hardware.com/people/werner/wpan/tmp/atben-110324-overview.png">atben</A>,
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<A href="http://downloads.qi-hardware.com/people/werner/wpan/tmp/atusb-110330-overview.png">atusb</A>
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<TR><TH align="left">Test software<TD bgcolor="#80ff80" align="center">Done
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<TD><A href="http://projects.qi-hardware.com/index.php/p/ben-wpan/source/tree/master/prod">scripts</A>,
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<A href="http://projects.qi-hardware.com/index.php/p/ben-wpan/source/tree/master/tools">tools</A>,
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<A href="http://downloads.qi-hardware.com/people/werner/wpan/prod/">description</A>
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<TR><TH align="left">Production<TD bgcolor="#80ff80" align="center">Done
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<TD><A href="http://en.qi-hardware.com/wiki/Ben_WPAN#Production_Notes">Production notes</A>
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<TR><TH align="left">Firmware<TD bgcolor="#ffff00" align="center">
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Finishing
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<TD><A href="http://projects.qi-hardware.com/index.php/p/ben-wpan/source/tree/master/atusb/fw">source</A>
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<TR><TH align="left">Device driver<TD bgcolor="#ffff00" align="center">
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In progress
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<TD><A href="http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/linux-zigbee/">linux-zigbee project</A>,
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<A href="http://projects.qi-hardware.com/index.php/p/qi-kernel/source/tree/ben-wpan/drivers/ieee802154">ben-wpan kernel branch</A>
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<TR><TH align="left">MAC layer<TD bgcolor="#ffff00" align="center">
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In progress
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<TD><A href="http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/linux-zigbee/">linux-zigbee project
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<TR><TH align="left">IPv4 hack<TD bgcolor="#80ff80" align="center">Done
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<TD><A href="http://projects.qi-hardware.com/index.php/p/ben-wpan/source/tree/master/tools/dirtpan">dirtpan</A>
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<TR><TH align="left">6LoWPAN stack<TD bgcolor="#ff8080" align="center">To do
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<H2>Further reading</H2>
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We have a more detailed
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<A href="http://en.qi-hardware.com/wiki/Ben_WPAN">wiki page</A>.
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<BR>
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Discussions related to the project take place on the Qi-Hardware
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<A href="http://lists.en.qi-hardware.com/mailman/listinfo/discussion">mailing
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list</A> and on the
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<A href="http://webchat.freenode.net/?randomnick=1&channels=qi-hardware">#qi-hardware
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channel</A> on
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<A href="http://freenode.net/">freenode</A>.
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<BR>
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Tuxbrain have a
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<A href="http://www.tuxbrain.com/en/content/free-and-open-replacement-wireless-lan">description</A>
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with additional pictures and a link to their
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<A href="https://www.tuxbrain.net/shop/index.php?cPath=347">shop</A>.
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<P>
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<HR>
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Last update: 2011-06-15
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<A href="mailto:werner@almesberger.net"><I>Werner Almesberger</I></A>
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<HR>
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</BODY>
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</HTML>
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