Sentilla Perk Kit is the perfect starter to evaluate and prototype a solution using wireless sensors. The starter kit is pretty cheap compared to the competition such as Dust Networks and you can find more info over here.
Sentilla approach is ground-breaking: it brings Java support to wireless sensors or other connected tiny devices.
However, it seems that their strategy has changed lately and Sentilla now provides energy monitoring solutions in lieu of a development platform.
That said, let’s delve into the Perk Kit:
- OUT-OF-BOX:
Sentilla Perk Kit
In the perk kit, one can find:
- 2 motes
- 1 usb gateway
- the installation CD
- a quick setup manual
The two motes are by default tied to a specific usb gateway. So as to use other motes with the same usb gateway, all the motes should be configured to use the same channel id. The trick can be found here if you have developer community access here.
- INSTALLATION of the development platform ( based off Eclipse ):
On Windows, the installation is straight-forward by inserting the installation disk. Nothing tricky to report here.
On Mac, the Sentilla development platform is also very easy to install.
The trick is that on Mac, super user permissions are required to launch the Sentilla workspace, hence your java files permission may be messed up! Indeed, I’ve switched over my development from Windows to Mac and encoutered many problems…”chmod 0755″ all your java files should fix everything.
- TECHNICAL SUPPORT and glitches:
The technical support is awesome.
I am not saying that you can expect the support folks to answer all of your questions, from the more obvious ones to the whimsical new feature request!
Basically, if you have a problem, you’ll have to get enough insight so that the technical support team can lead you to find the solution by yourself.
Few glitches may be encountered during application setup. More specifically, I’ve gone through many problems with the firmware flash through USB…I definitely advise NOT to use any usb hub which was the main cause of my problems among others.
I’ll be using the Sentilla motes to connect my sensors to a RESTful API of my own. I am very thrilled about this project and am looking forward to describe it further after the prototyping ( expected end of July! )…stay tuned.
Hope this review helps.
For java on sensors checkout the sunspot too … sunspotworld.com
cheers
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Arshan, I’ve been thinking about this solution as well for rapid-prototyping and it seems enticing. Is there a way I can get a hold on one as a loaner?
Then I will write a post about it.