ISOTEL Sensor Network (ISN)¶
ISN is a lightweight, object-oriented protocol stack designed for building distributed, non-centric sensor networks. Developed originally for internal use at ISOTEL, it has evolved into a flexible framework that simplifies embedded communication, reduces development time, and promotes code reuse across projects.
What makes ISN different¶
Protocols as Objects: Atomic protocol objects can be nested or combined to form complex structures without reinventing the stack for each device.
True Isotropic Design: Non-master-slave, state-less, and auto-discoverable. Every node can be accessed equally from any side, making the network inherently resilient and decentralised.
Media Agnostic: Runs over RS-232, RS-485, USB, UDP, TCP/IP, Bluetooth, RF, etc.
Binary Efficiency with Text Compatibility: Exchange raw C structures without parsing overhead, while still supporting mixed math rich I/O for legacy commands.
Seamless Translation: Native mapping to JSON and OPC/UA for straightforward integration into modern network standards and cloud environments.
Tools and Implementation¶
The ISN stack is complemented by ISOTEL Device Manager · IDM development GUI and API that provides protocol auto-discovery, structure visualisation, and ready-to-use bindings for web, Python, and other software environments.
For embedded development, the ISN protocol is implemented in an open-source libisn library available on github. The library is designed for rapid development on ARM and other micro-controllers, with a very small footprint and low CPU load. It supports real-time debugging, seamless integration with Python test frameworks, and transparent I/O translation to TCP/IP sockets, and more.
Explore the ISN Protocol¶
For a complete technical deep dive - including frame layers, message layers, transport layers, and full protocol specifications - visit the official documentation: