A Modular Architecture for Energy Efficient Wireless Sensor Networks Nodes

Abstract

The current evolution of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) has led us towards real world problems such as the power supply of network nodes in an efficient and sustained way. The actual implementation of these networks calls for perpetually powered devices, since the constant changing of the batteries is not a realistic scenario. That is the main motivation behind the proposal of this new architecture, having the low power consumption as a key objective and an intelligent interaction with power supply modules. The energy efficiency of this platform comes from three different factors: the use of a last generation ultra low-power microcontroller, the use of different communication modes and the intelligent interaction with a harvesting module able to perpetually supply energy to the network nodes. Hence, the modularity of this platform, allowing for independent development of its components, is a very important characteristic. We present and discuss the major features of the proposed architecture, such as the used processor, how the modularity is achieved and how we intend to implement the energy solutions.