ALYZE - an analysis tool for wireless sensor networks with a direct physical interaction interface

ALYZE is a tool for planning and analyzing wireless sensor networks (WSN). The main feature is a new intuitive visualization and handling concept that eases the task to analyze a wireless sensor network. The system localizes sensor nodes that have been attached to a magnetic whiteboard. A video projector shows a real time visualization of the network topology, routing tables, node state, sensor data, and the data traffic within the WSN on the same whiteboard. ALYZE allows the user to see the data traffic and sensor node information directly projected on top of the WSN, which makes it easy to analyze the network and to demonstrate features. Because the range of the WSN is limited to the boundary of the projected image, ALYZE also supports scaling and the calculation of the resulting network topology and routing tables. This information can be sent to the WSN and displayed by the projector, too.