Open Source Zero-Configuration Mesh Networking
Add Babel routing and automatic mesh formation in Meshpoint
MeshPoint is open source mesh WiFi hardware and firmware that lets ordinary people, not network engineers, deploy resilient outdoor networks in places where connectivity fails, from refugee camps to disaster areas and rural communities. The project builds on field experience going back to the 2015 refugee crisis, where the hardware served over 50,000 people, and addresses a persistent gap: no fully open, replicable mesh system exists for crisis deployments. This project will research optimal Babel routing (RFC 8966) for crisis scenarios, develop zero-configuration mesh formation on OpenWrt so that networks form themselves without manual setup, and publish the complete system as open hardware, with tested PCB designs under CERN-OHL-S, a rugged enclosure, GPLv3 firmware and a real-time mesh monitoring dashboard. The outcome is a tested, documented open mesh networking stack that anyone can build, replicate and deploy.
- The project's own website: https://www.meshpointone.com/
Run by Crisis Innovation Lab d.o.o.
This project was funded through the NGI0 Commons Fund, a fund established by NLnet with financial support from the European Commission's Next Generation Internet programme, under the aegis of DG Communications Networks, Content and Technology under grant agreement No 101135429. Additional funding is made available by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).
