IBM’s Mote Runner – Connecting Everything

According to the plans of IBM, all objects and devices will link to each other and will have access to the Internet, in the future. Expanding this concept the representatives of IBM Research announced a new set of hardware and software development, Mote Runner, that will allow developers to connect any device to the Internet. Mote Runner is an electronic node of the system of wireless sensors that collects information and transmits collected data to the network for further processing. It can be used to link any devices into a single system by wireless connection with a single management interface. Software for Mote Runner took a few cycles of optimization that allows its implementation in terms of limited hardware of tiny microprocessors and leaves a rich set of functionality.

The core of Mote Runner is an 8-bit microcontroller with 8K RAM and 64K of program memory. But, thanks to build-in software developers can create soft for this device using high-level languages such as Java or C#, that do not require special knowledge in architecture of microprocessors and electronics.  The created applications can be written and debugged in emulator.  And after that they can be downloaded to a module of Mote Runner.

Sphere of application of Mote Runner technology almost unbounded, due to its universality. It can be used to communicate with devices and equipment located in remote or inaccessible areas, in multi-storey buildings, meteorological stations located in the depths of tropical forests or on mountain tops. In a daily life Mote Runner can help to control the health and status of elderly people remotely, be used in fire and alarm systems and even to control appliances via the Internet.