Meshinger is the first handheld wireless router with battery, eInk display, SD card, and a keyboard. The hardware, operating system and all applications are also completely open source, hackable and based on OpenWRT, so existing OpenWRT packages can run on it (including Wifi Pineapple modules). This makes Meshinger a unique and powerful platform for mesh-routed app development and messaging.

The platform includes a demonstration messenger application, which provides mesh-routed end-to-end encrypted messaging capabilities via the 802.11s mesh protocol, even when there is no other network infrastructure available.

Meshinger provides two unique features: true offline mesh messaging, and functioning as a pocket-sized single-unit wireless router.

Offline mesh messaging is valuable in remote areas where other infrastructure might be unavailable, but is also be valuable for urban situations where the existing network infrastructure is damaged, blocked, or shut down, such as disasters or protests.

A pocket-sized OpenWRT router is useful for penetration testers. The Wifi Pineapple is an existing OpenWRT-based security testing tool with a wide variety of ported packages, and the same packages can be run on this handheld without the need of an additional laptop or phone.

Since the whole environment is open source developers can use this platform to build their own applications, using the abilities that the OpenWRT platform has that mobile phones do not, such as 802.11s and the other capabilities of a full Wi-fi chipset.

Features & Specifications

• Wifi Module: Mk76-based Skylab SKW92 OpenWRT module
• Power: 18650 field-replaceable lithium ion battery, or 5 v DC power plug for wall adapter
• Display: 2.13" Pervasive Displays eInk display
• Keyboard: Q10 Blackberry keyboard
• Storage: MicroSD card slot
• Network: On-board RJ45 Ethernet port, dual-antenna Wi-fi with MIMO
• USB: USB Host with Type-A port (will only work when running from a 5 v power supply, not on battery)
• Debug Port: TTL serial at 3.3 V

Open Source

Firmware, software and board schematics are on GitHub.

The core of the messaging software is based on this project.

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