The paper introduces Telos, an ultra-low power wireless sensor module ("mote") designed by the University of California, Berkeley, to enable research and experimentation in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Telos is the latest in a series of motes developed by UC Berkeley, aiming to achieve minimal power consumption, ease of use, and increased robustness for experimentation. The design integrates programming, communication, storage, and sensing functionalities on a single device, reducing the need for external components and simplifying experimentation. Key features of Telos include: - **Low Power Consumption**: Utilizes a Texas Instruments MSP430 microcontroller and Chipcon IEEE 802.15.4-compliant radio, achieving power consumption that is one-tenth of previous mote platforms. - **Ease of Use**: Equipped with USB for programming and power, eliminating the need for separate support boards. - **Robustness**: Features hardware write protection, isolated sub-circuits, and a robust antenna design, enhancing system reliability. The paper also discusses the evolution of WSN platforms, highlighting the limitations of existing platforms like Mica2 and MicaZ, and explains how Telos addresses these issues. Telos's design is based on low-duty cycle principles, minimizing sleep current and wake-up time, and integrating hardware accelerators for better performance. The integrated design allows for more sophisticated applications and robust systems, making it suitable for both lab and deployment settings. The paper concludes by emphasizing Telos's impact on research, particularly in enabling experimentation with the new IEEE 802.15.4 standard and leveraging existing TinyOS infrastructure. Telos's low power consumption, enhanced functionality, and robust design make it a significant advancement in WSN research and deployment.The paper introduces Telos, an ultra-low power wireless sensor module ("mote") designed by the University of California, Berkeley, to enable research and experimentation in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Telos is the latest in a series of motes developed by UC Berkeley, aiming to achieve minimal power consumption, ease of use, and increased robustness for experimentation. The design integrates programming, communication, storage, and sensing functionalities on a single device, reducing the need for external components and simplifying experimentation. Key features of Telos include: - **Low Power Consumption**: Utilizes a Texas Instruments MSP430 microcontroller and Chipcon IEEE 802.15.4-compliant radio, achieving power consumption that is one-tenth of previous mote platforms. - **Ease of Use**: Equipped with USB for programming and power, eliminating the need for separate support boards. - **Robustness**: Features hardware write protection, isolated sub-circuits, and a robust antenna design, enhancing system reliability. The paper also discusses the evolution of WSN platforms, highlighting the limitations of existing platforms like Mica2 and MicaZ, and explains how Telos addresses these issues. Telos's design is based on low-duty cycle principles, minimizing sleep current and wake-up time, and integrating hardware accelerators for better performance. The integrated design allows for more sophisticated applications and robust systems, making it suitable for both lab and deployment settings. The paper concludes by emphasizing Telos's impact on research, particularly in enabling experimentation with the new IEEE 802.15.4 standard and leveraging existing TinyOS infrastructure. Telos's low power consumption, enhanced functionality, and robust design make it a significant advancement in WSN research and deployment.