The advent of wireless sensor networks (WSN) has opened up an array of applications. Due to the ad-hoc nature of WSN and the small size of wireless nodes, multiple system configurations are possible. In order to collect data from WSN, some systems utilize static nodes with a network setup that consists of multiple relays to facilitate the dissemination of data to a gateway. Other WSN architectures consist of a mixture of static and mobile nodes. Mobile nodes are able to collect data from the WSN when in close proximity to a static node. Such nodes are referred to as data mules. Data mules presents multiple advantages including the improvement of the network life as communication usually takes place via a single hop. In order to collect smart meter data, we propose the usage of mini-bus taxis carrying a data collector node as an alternative to traditional GSM models where data collected is directly uploaded from a data concentrator to a server. Using the vast network of mini-bus taxis in South Africa, data collection in areas lacking GSM network will be possible. This paper will attempt to present all the relevant parameters required for such data collection scheme to be successful.
Keywords: data mule; public taxis; smart meter; wireless sensor network.