Energy-Efficient, Secure, and Spectrum-Aware Ultra-Low Power Internet-of-Things System Infrastructure for Precision Agriculture

Abstract

This article presents a robust, energy-efficient, and spectrum-aware infrastructure to support the Internet-of-Things (IoT) system deployed in precision agriculture, aiming to reduce power consumption to a level feasible for sustained operation using harvested energy alone. We present a system modeling-based approach to identify key optimizations, which are subsequently translated into a more feasible ultra-low power (ULP) IoT system implementation. Measurement results for ULP infrastructure components, including a ULP received signal strength detector and wake-up radio, implemented in a 65-nm CMOS technology, demonstrate power consumption in the range of a few nano-watts. In addition, we propose a lightweight energy-detection-based countermeasure against energy depletion attacks within IoT networks. We also suggest strategies for IoT sensor nodes to coexist within increasingly congested device networks while opportunistically enhancing their energy systems to potentially achieve self-powered IoT operation. Finally, we conduct a detailed analysis of power consumption in an IoT sensor deployed for sensing and monitoring, evaluating the feasibility of different energy systems, such as battery-based and energy harvesting solutions.