Ultra-low power Wi-Fi tag for wireless sensing

G2 microsystems of Campbell, California, USA, released in 2007 the first ever ultra-low power Wi-Fi System on a Chip (SoC) named G2C501. This SoC includes a 32-bit CPU, crypto accelerator, real-time clock and a versatile sensor interface that can serve as a standalone host subsystem. The G2C501 goes beyond todaypsilas basic radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to offer intelligent tracking and sensor capabilities that leverage IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) networks. Due to its support for multiple location technologies, small form factor and ultra-low power consumption, the G2 SoC can be integrated into Wi-Fi asset tags that lower cost of ownership and meet the needs of a variety of industries including consumer electronics, pharmaceuticals, chemical manufacturing, cold chain and more. G2 Microsystems offered companies from different industries participation into a beta program that granted early access to the silicon in 2007 with the idea of fine-tuning and testing the SoC firmware. One direction was to develop a device platform for ultra low-power Wi-Fi sensing which represents a deviation from G2psilas focus on asset location tracking. A battery powered, small size ultra low-power Wi-Fi wireless measurement node has been built for measurement of temperature, humidity, light, and vibration or motion. The node is able to read a sensor and send data to the network by using an IP-based application protocol such as UDP. This paper describes the wireless node hardware and firmware components, power consumption and power management, application software, and it also gives a performance analysis. The device being a sensor with IP capability was named the IP Sensor.