WebShawn, Simulating Wireless Sensors Networks from the Web

Abstract

Although there are several tools available to simulate a Wireless sensor networks (WSN), few of them allow on-line simulation as WebShawn does. The tool can be considered as a complement of the existing experimental platforms allowing focus on implementation, collection, and analysis of data, in a relatively simple manner. The adopted software architecture is based on the remote simulation and visualization model, where the simulation engine is located at the server side, and the access to the simulation system is performed using a conventional web browser, obtaining the results through the Internet interface. This particular option is the main advantage of WebShawn regarding other existing applications. Being tested in the classroom as well as in a laboratory research, WebShawn is a tool ready for use by Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry, researchers, students, or whoever needs to simulate WSN scenarios with a huge number of nodes. WebShawn allows users to assign their efforts to develop, design the network, and plan the scene, without losing time in the installation stage.