SENESCOPE: A design tool for cost optimization of wireless sensor nodes

The market of wireless sensor networks is permanently growing due to the declining costs of sensor nodes. This paper presents a new approach for the hardware design of sensor networks based on a multi-criteria cost optimization by means of evolutionary algorithms. During an automated selection procedure of several implementation variants, not only expenditures for development and fabrication are considered, but also additional objectives like time to market or process complexity. A design tool was realized in order to support the development of very cost-efficient sensor networks. The integration of specific cost models allows the designer to identify the appropriate architecture variants and technology options. The verification of the design tool resulted in valuable knowledge about sensor nodes especially for specific application scenarios. A prototype for condition monitoring was designed and discussed regarding options for cost optimization.