Design of a Wireless Sensor Network from an Energy Management Perspective

Abstract

It is common knowledge that EnergyManagement (EM) is a crucial design criterion for wirelesssensor networks and it influences many softwarecomponents of a wireless sensor network. To facilitate theapplication developer, EM algorithms at the physical anddevice level are generally abstracted out by the OperatingSystem, but this is not sufficient. This paper presents thedesign of a wireless sensor network for the acquisition oftemperature values from the EM perspective in particularfrom the application layer perspective. Power measurementson a wireless sensor node show that the energy consumptionis close to the theoretical and manufacturer’s posted energybudget, but the predicted lifespan of the nodes when placedin a network is not achieved. Explanations are given of whythe amounts are not exactly the same.