The Tenet project has made a public release of the Tenet software v1.0. Tenet is software for flexibly programming a tiered network of sensors. Tiered networks consist of motes and masters (PC-class devices, such as Stargate, that run Linux or Cygwin). In Tenet, all applications run on the masters which task the motes using a simple but expressive linear data-flow tasking language.

This release includes:

• Pre-compiled Tenet binary images for the MicaZ and TelosB motes.
• Pre-compiled data gathering and visualization/diagnostics applications on the masters. Support is also provided for compiling your own applications using the Tenet API. Tenet allows users to run multiple applications concurrently.

Supported platforms include TelosB and MicaZ motes, Cygwin and Linux.
Tenet can be downloaded from here.
More details on Tenet is available here.

Microchip Technology, the only company providing an open source ZigBee protocol implementation, has now released their first 2.4 GHz radio transceiver. The MRF24J40 is intended for the 802.15.4 chip market and can now be used with the company’s zero-cost-license and royalty-free protocol stack, which is also one of the smallest in the industry. Source Code availability means designers can customize their product, using more than 200 of the company’s compatible PIC MCUs.

Moreover, the company also freely provides MiWi, a small-footprint protocol for customers who do not need ZigBee  protocol interoperability but want to use 15.4 transceivers in low-cost peer-to-peer, star and mesh networks.    

The ZENA wireless network analyzer tool further assists in the design process. A combination of software and hardware that sniffs packets from top to bottom.

MRF24J40’s samples are available. Current purchases shipping is expected for March. More info at Michochip’s website