Enhancing DPM Techniques in Outdoor Industrial WSN Applications

Abstract

The main challenge during designing a new node is reducing the power consumption as much as possible to maximize the lifetime of wireless sensor network (WSN) since most nodes are powered from a finite source of energy, in general nonrechargeable battery. In this paper we propose a solution to minimize the power consumed by the microcontroller (MCU), which is the main processing component in the node. Our energy power optimization solution is based on two techniques: firstly enhance dynamic power management (DPM) policies by reducing MCU consumption during standby mode; secondly, focus on temperature impact on low power consumption. In this context, a microcontroller dynamic power management (MDPM) algorithm is proposed to improve DPM scheme. This algorithm is deployed on a measurement circuit able to calculate the consumption during the different low power modes in real environments conditions and then selects the better one. These two techniques are combined in a novel way to provide an efficient energy solution for wireless sensor networks nodes. Our solution is validated and qualified with STM32F446RE MCU.