Unified Link-Layer API Enabling Portable Protocols and Applications for Wireless Sensor Networks

Considerable amount of research work has recently been performed in the area of wireless sensor networks. In this paper, the authors address the diversity of programming interfaces for link layer information as well as sensor measurement data as one of the few critical problems that have not in their opinion been addressed thoroughly enough. They propose the use of the Unified Link-Layer API (ULLA) for wireless sensor networks. It offers a common interface to retrieve link layer information independently of the deployed radio technology considerably simplifying development process of link-aware protocols and applications. The ULLA can be used not only by applications running locally on sensor nodes but also remotely by applications running in an end-user device.