Power Optimization of Arduino-Based Sensor System for Salton Sea Environmental Monitoring

Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) microcontroller based embedded system and sensors are used to monitor the Salton Sea environmental hazard. Power consumption data of microcontroller CPU core, I/O buses (UART, SPI and I2C), and peripheral sensors (GPS and optical-based dust sensor) are first presented, followed by optimization techniques using software control and hardware-assisted power gating technique. A set of logic based on sensor input is introduced to create a conscious way to optimize system power. Caveats of hidden power cost during field operation of peripheral sensors are also discussed. Our findings show that a conscious power-optimized design can simultaneously extend system run time to collect additional data up to 84% higher compared to LEAP-like approach.