Abstract
IEEE 802.11 is one of the most commonly used radio access technologies, being present in almost all handheld devices with networking capabilities. However, its energy-hungry communication modes are a challenge for the increased battery lifetime of such devices and are an obstacle for its use in battery-constrained devices such as the ones defined by many Internet of Things applications. Wake-up Radio (WuR) systems have appeared as a solution for increasing the energy efficiency of communication technologies by employing a secondary low-power radio interface, which is always in the active state and switches the primary transceiver (used for main data communication) from the energy-saving to the active operation mode. The high market penetration of IEEE 802.11 technology, together with the benefits that WuR systems can bring to this widespread technology, motivates this article’s focus on IEEE 802.11-based WuR solutions. More specifically, we elaborate on the feasibility of such IEEE 802.11-based WuR solutions, and introduce the latest standardization efforts in this IEEE 802.11-based WuR domain, IEEE 802.11ba, which is a forthcoming IEEE 802.11 amendment, discussing its main features and potential use cases. As a use case consisting of green Wi-Fi application, we provide a proof-of-concept smart plug system implemented by a WuR that is activated remotely using IEEE 802.11 devices, evaluate its monetary and energy savings, and compare it with commercially available smart plug solutions. Finally, we discuss novel applications beyond the wake-up functionality that IEEE 802.11-enabled WuR devices can offer using a secondary radio, as well as applications that have not yet been considered by IEEE 802.11ba. As a result, we argue that the IEEE 802.11-based WuR solution will support a wide range of devices and deployments, for both low-rate and low-power communications, as well as high-rate transmissions.
Highlights
IntroductionIEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi)-based Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), with more than 9.5 billion devices currently in use around the world, have experienced significant growth in the last decade
IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi)-based Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), with more than 9.5 billion devices currently in use around the world, have experienced significant growth in the last decade.Widespread IEEE 802.11 is the preferred radio access technology for indoor wireless communications with the highest market penetration, being present in almost all consumer electronics devices with network capabilities
Most usage models discussed within the TGba are built on the following basic operation: (i) The primary radio of an IEEE 802.11ba-capable low-power device is put to sleep in order to save energy; (ii) when communication with the sleeping device is required, a Wake-up Radio (WuR) packet (WuP)
Summary
IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi)-based Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), with more than 9.5 billion devices currently in use around the world, have experienced significant growth in the last decade. It is expected that the number of sensor nodes (devices able to collect sensory information and to communicate within a network) with non-cellular connections will exceed the number of consumer electronics devices in the near future, and that such sensor nodes will account for more than half of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices With these devices being powered by batteries or energy harvesting, it is of key importance to use low-power equipment and further reduce energy consumption. Compared to the duty cycle solutions, where the receiver goes to a sleep state and wakes up periodically for the defined duty cycle, WuR systems achieve higher energy efficiency by employing two transceivers at the receiver: A primary transceiver for main data communication and a secondary receiver used to switch the primary transceiver from an energy-saving state to active operation (Figure 1) This secondary receiver, called the WuR receiver (WuRx), has very low-power consumption and, can be permanently active without a significant sacrifice in terms of battery life.
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