2008 REPORT¶

Hardware nRF not satisfying¶

We did some test with Nordic RF (nRF) kits:

• Frequency Hopping is not builtin and full-duplex is questionable.
• Multi-channel is not possible for several different communications, only collision avoidance.
• Reach is around 300m, would be better with more distance.
• NOT SATISFYING SO FAR FOR PROTO

We're investigating other Hardware such as:

• ChipCon ou TI CC2420 (ZigBee) or Ember EM2420
• Atheros standard WiFi chips with modification (using existing hardware is a plus)
• Software Defined Radio (best option, most difficult)

Chaos Congress: random contacts of interested people¶

• http://events.ccc.de/congress/2008/wiki/Bricophone
• Dedicated location for Bricophone (we were mostly all around meeting people, at conferences, not so much in the nerd-zone) see http://events.ccc.de/congress/2008/wiki/Floorplans
• Merged space with OpenWRT
• Lots of contact,
• Few developper available
• Good contact with Harald Welde and OpenBSC for open GSM networks in order to open bricophone to using all the existing GSM handsets or even (ab)using existing GSM handset protocol stack into doing Mesh

Chaos Congress: Contact with TOR developper¶

• Contact with: Roger Dingledine (Project Leader; Director)
• Very good feedback on the project approach
• Suggestions: freehaven.org/anonlib, Seattle Project @ WU, UCARP: Redmond rtr
• Plan to implement a DHT + TOR/I2P in Ruby/Python for fast prototyping

Follow-up on IETF P2PSIP Workgroup¶

• Online following of IETF workgroup progress
• Test of P2PSIP prototypes

Contact with OpenWRT team¶

• OpenWRT team very motivated to be the platform for relaying Bricophone comms over the Internet
• Gateway between BricoRF and the Internet
• (ab)using existing WiFi hardware (Atheros) by a hack to make it use TDMA instead of DSSS / OFDM.
• They advised us to define something that can be cross-hardware compatible (big problem with nRF)

Future BattleMesh at /tmp/lab for Mesh routing tests¶

• Test out all the WiFi based mesh solutions (for off-internet but still IP backhaul of Bricophone comms)
• In one place
• Between: OLSR, Batman, Babel
• Carry out mini-tests of AODV or similar BricoRF suitable routing protocols
• Organized in /tmp/lab (Vitry/Paris, our space)
• http://www.tmplab.org/2009/02/16/first-tmplab-wireless-battle-mesh-april-11-12th-2009-tmplab/

Infrastructure at /tmp/lab¶

• GIT/SVN repository for project sources (currently: nRF testbed + toolchain)
• Redmine project (Ticket Tracking, Documentation, Sources, Distribution...)
• Electronic / Physical Test bench lab
• GSM basestation + OpenBSC for testing or GSM-based Mesh
• GSM Handsets being reverse engineered to investigate flashable capabilities of GSM stack
• Software Defined Radio (SDR) in the future? Like GNUradio USRP

OUTLINE FOR 2009¶

Tech¶

• TI / ChipCon hardware tests
• Wifi modification for voice-based mesh (Atheros) with OpenWRT
• SDR test bed

Organization¶

• Bricophone Workshops / Conferences during CoS, Hacker Space Fest, HAR and FrHACK
• Open up repository as soon as we have a good prototype (non-nRF?)

Can we meet at the Wintercamp in Amsterdam?¶

Topics

• Global Orientation
• How to speed up development / ..
• Tech plan for 2009
• When to open up

Philippe, Vianney and Jean Noel.