MDB: A Metadata Tracking Microcontroller Micro-Database

Abstract

This work in progress explores a database designed to enable data sharing on custom hardware data collection devices and prototypes. Projects and systems are frequently based on the Arduino framework, examples include ODK's FoneAstra [3], the Open Energy Monitor [7], and the Grove system of sensors [5]. The Arduino platform is targeted because of its ease of use, community support, and low cost as a data collecting device compared to other off-the-shelf sensors. However, there is a need for a framework suitable for microcontrollers that enable ease of integration into other data collection systems. This includes the ability to synchronize data with collection and aggregation devices designed to work offline as well as the ability to track sensors and describe data sources for other machines and users. To address the issue, we propose a solution based on an existing small database usable on the Arduino platform that would integrate into the Mezuri [6] data collection system. The database is designed to fit within the running memory constraints on a microcontroller to store sensor data with relatively few fields per reading on flash media. This framework, with explicit support for metadata, enables users in emerging regions to directly measure physical quantities as well as indirectly measure human behavior in future development projects involving direct sensing. The database can be used by a non-expert. In particular, we investigate the qualities that a technically inclined social scientist would look for when storing such data on microcontrollers. To enable Mezuri integration we will support metadata as a first class object accessible with additional utility functions and native synchronization support.