intelliSENSE: Location-based Wi-Fi sensing for energy efficiency in smart mobile devices

Abstract

Today, we use smart mobile devices to browse content, stream media, etc., in addition to making voice calls. Most smart devices are equipped with IEEE 802.11 (WiFi) interface to connect to the Internet using wireless access points (APs), as WiFi provides cost-effective connectivity to users. Wireless interfaces in smart devices drain high energy while searching for network connectivity and transition into power saving mode (PSM) after connecting to an AP. Hence, we need intelligent and energy-efficient mechanisms to scan and connect to wireless networks. In this work, we propose and investigate the characteristics of intelliSENSE, a location-based WiFi sensing mechanism for energy efficiency in smart mobile devices. We also propose adaptive polling mechanisms to further reduce the energy spent in WiFi sensing.