An Energy Model of the Ultra-Low-Power Transceiver nRF24L01 for Wireless Body Sensor Networks

Abstract

In the recent years, Wireless Body Sensor Networks (WBSNs) attracted much attention in the research community. The key to success for WBSNs is the utilization of highly efficient transceivers and the application of intelligent policies to handle the limited (energy) resources. Simulations are a frequently used tool to evaluate different policies and analyze the performance of wireless networks in different configurations. The nRF24L01 is an ultra-low-power transceiver for the 2.4 GHz frequency band which is very well suited to build simple but efficient WBSNs. This work presents a detailed simulation model of the nRF24L01 for MiXiM, a simulation framework for wireless networks. The implementation is focused on tracking the transceiver’s energy consumption in operation. The presented simulation model is a valuable tool for network designers and implementers when working with the nRF24L01.