NB-IoT and Wi-Fi Technologies: An Integrated Approach to Enhance Portability of Smart Sensors

The Internet of Things paradigm has expanded the possibility of using sensors ubiquitously, particularly if connected to a cloud service for data sharing. There are several ways to connect sensors to the cloud: wearable or portable devices often lean on a smartphone that acts as a gateway, while other sensors, such as smart sensors for continuous monitoring (e.g. fall detectors) are connected through wireless networks covering a limited area (e.g. ZigBee or Wi-Fi). Their functionality can be improved using them in both outdoor and indoor environments without other devices. NB-IoT is a recently introduced wide-range protocol with a good compromise between low power, low deployment costs, payload length, and data rate. Traditionally, sensor nodes rely on only one type of radio: an innovative solution could be a sensor node exploiting a combination of different transmission technologies with the aim of achieving higher portability. In this paper, a hybrid solution based on NB-IoT/Wi-Fi is presented. The Wi-Fi connection is primarily selected due to its lower power consumption (compared to NB-IoT), while NB-IoT is activated only when a Wi-Fi network is not available. This study aims to evaluate the power consumption of the proposed solution with respect to single radio NB-IoT technology. Test boards have been implemented, and several data transmission tests have been carried out with both NB-IoT and Wi-Fi radios. Different received powers and payload lengths have been considered to analyze the impact on the energy profile of smart sensors. It has been demonstrated that using NB-IoT for both indoor and outdoor leads to an acceptable battery discharge time, with a strong dependence on the payload length. Under certain conditions, the proposed hybrid solution results in a battery duration up to two times higher than single-radio NB-IoT.