Open-Source Modular Smart meter Proposed Design for Single Phase Measurements - Communication Design
One of the known Wireless mesh networking proprietary protocols is DigiMesh protocol, which was developed by Digi international. This meshing protocol allows the interchange of data between all nodes in a network, and it is known for its simple and flexible network setup. The data is routed in a powerful way by mesh networking. Therefore, the data is allowed to hop node to node, and it has high reliability due to its ability to pass the data through alternative paths in cases of failures. This protocol is supported by radio frequency, RF, of 2.4 GHz frequency. RF provides wireless communication with the 2.4GHz transceiver. DigiMesh protocol is particularly developed for XBee modules, which are devices that has embedded RF modules. XBee has several types with wide range of other communication protocols such as ZigBee, IEEE 802.11, and IEEE 802.12.4 in addition to the DigiMesh Proprietary protocol.
XBee series 1 DigiMesh 2.4 module is used for wireless communication between the master and slave MCU units, such that each MCU has XBee model connected to its serial interface port, universal synchronous/Asynchronous receiver transmitter, UART. The serial interface of XBee provides RF communication link, such that devices connected to XBee exchange the data through RF network. STM32F4 has several UART ports that can be connected directly to the transceiver pins of the XBee. However, before establishing any communication link between the XBee modules, some configuration are required to be set for both modules to be able to communicate with each other. The configuration of the XBee modules are done through using the software XBee Configuration and Test Utility, XCTU which is an graphical interface for the Digi RF devices.