Sun SPOT (Small Programmable Object Technology) is a small and flexible sensor platform that runs JVM (Java Virtual Machine).
Sun SPOT devices can run applications without any underlying OS, or run multiple applications on one virtual machine.
Applications (with their complete state information) to be dragged from one Sun SPOT device to another while they're still running.
Using this sensor platform one can build 'sensor networks' - collections of nodes, sometimes as small as millimeters in length or diameter, that consist of small computer processors, memory devices, and radios that transmit and receive information between devices.
Hardware
A Sun SPOT device is built by stacking a Sun SPOT processor board with a sensor board and battery.
Sun SPOT Processor Board: CPU: 180 MHz 32 bit ARM920T, 512KB RAM with 4MB Flash memory, 2.4 gigahertz radio, USB interface and 3.7V rechargeable 720 mAh lithium-ion battery.
General Purpose Sensor Board: 2G/6G 3-axis accelerometer, Temperature sensor, Light sensor, 8 tri-color LEDs, 6 analog inputs, 2 momentary switches, 5 general purpose I/O pins and 4 high current output pins.
Programming
Unlike in cell phones, Java for Sun SPOT sensors, called Java 2 Micro Edition, runs directly on the hardware and acts as an operating system. Developers can write a program in Java, load it on a device, run it, and debug it with standard Java IDEs.
For developers who already write code in Java there is little additional learning curve for building Sun SPOT programs.
Unlike other embedded systems, SunSPOT developers are able to use industry standard Java development tools such as Netbeans or Eclipse to programs and debug their applications.
Additionally the SunSpot team created the SPOTWorld is a single tool for programming, configuring, managing and monitoring SPOT devices
that allows developers to address the issues of programming and managing hundreds of devices spread out over a large area.
Sun SPOT development kit includes
- Two Sun SPOT devices with demo sensor boards.
- Base station Sun SPOT to connect to your development machine.
- Software development tools and cables.
