Wake-Up Methods to Extend Battery Life Time of Wireless Sensor Nodes

The power consumption in wireless sensor networks is one of the main issues when designing sensor nodes. Furthermore the available energy density of batteries for a given battery size and the difficulty of recharging possibilities limits the life cycle of sensor nodes [8]. Wake up strategies will help to expand the operational life cycle of sensor nodes by reducing their power consumption. The focus of this work is to compare and evaluate wake up solutions for wireless sensor applications [1]. A custom demonstration platform to perform theses evaluations and measurements has been developed. The current measurements at the demonstrator have shown that wake up strategies [11] in conjunction with switching of not needed components will extend the life cycle enormous. In continuous receiving and transmit mode a sensor node will operate for 2-3 hours. If the sensor node is operated in wake up and smart switching mode it can operate up to several years.