EpiFi: An In-Home Sensor Network Architecture for Epidemiological Studies

TL;DR

EpiFi is a novel in-home sensor network system designed to simplify deployment for epidemiological research, featuring easy configuration, reliable device discovery, secure sensor authentication, and data integrity for long-term studies.

Contribution

It introduces a new architecture with simplified setup, secure sensor authentication, and data reliability mechanisms tailored for epidemiological in-home studies.

Findings

Successfully deployed in homes for pediatric asthma research

Enhanced device discovery and authentication methods

Achieved reliable long-term data collection

Abstract

We design and build a system called EpiFi, which allows epidemiologists to easily design and deploy experiments in homes. The focus of EpiFi is reducing the barrier to entry for deploying and using an in-home sensor network. We present a novel architecture for in-home sensor networks configured using a single configuration file and provide: a fast and reliable method for device discovery when installed in the home, a new mechanism for sensors to authenticate over the air using a subject's home WiFi router, and data reliability mechanisms to minimize loss in the network through a long-term deployment. We work collaboratively with pediatric asthma researchers to design three studies and deploy EpiFi in homes.