Custom Single Purpose Processor Design: For Low Power WSN Node

Abstract

A basic processor consists of a controller and a data path. The datapath stores and manipulates a system’s data. The data in the case of WSN node is the data acquired by the sensors of node after measuring the ambient conditions to be stored, processed and compressed for transmission; controller is capable of moving data through datapath. The combinational and sequential logic design techniques are applied to build a controller and datapath for a custom designed single-purpose event processor for WSN Node. Such custom designed single-purpose event processor results in several benefits in terms of faster performance, smaller size lower power consumption. WSN Node consists of sensors, a radio circuit a processor/microcontroller and some sort of power source. Event processor is custom designed, simulated, tested and implemented for single purpose application i.e. WSN Node using VHDL. Active HDL is used for simulation; to examine the various trade offs of using general purpose versus single purpose processor to implement necessary WSN node functionality.