Cloud-Enabled Wi-Fi Sensor Duty-Cycled Operation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Low power Wi-Fi sensors face challenges in maintaining battery life while providing timely sensor event reports and remote access, as they require frequent battery replacements and consume excessive energy during data transmission.
Innovation Solution
A cloud-enabled low power Wi-Fi sensor device that employs duty-cycled operation, ultra-low power sleep modes, and efficient communication protocols like UDP, allowing the sensor to wake up only for check-in and event messages, minimizing energy consumption by limiting transceiver activation and maintaining an active access point association to reduce reconnection needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If the sensor operates in low power sleep mode with duty cycling, then battery life is extended and energy consumption is reduced, but timely sensor event reporting and remote access may be delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor device implements duty-cycled operation where the transceiver periodically wakes up to transmit check-in messages and event data at predetermined intervals, then returns to ultra-low power sleep mode. This periodic activation pattern extends battery life while ensuring timely event reporting by scheduling transmissions at optimal intervals.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor device transmits check-in messages at predetermined intervals before actual sensor events occur. This preliminary action maintains an active association with the access point and ensures the device is ready to report events timely, while still spending most time in low-power mode to extend battery life.
2Reliability
If the transceiver activates frequently to maintain cloud connectivity and send data, then timely sensor event reporting is achieved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The transceiver is activated periodically at predetermined intervals to transmit check-in messages and event data, rather than remaining continuously active. This periodic operation maintains cloud connectivity and ensures timely event reporting while dramatically reducing transceiver energy consumption compared to continuous operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts only the essential communication functions (check-in messages and event data transmission) from continuous operation, activating the transceiver only when necessary to perform these specific tasks, then returning to sleep mode. This selective activation reduces energy consumption while maintaining reporting reliability.
3Productivity
If the sensor maintains an active association with the access point, then reconnection needs are reduced and communication efficiency is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor device maintains access point association through periodic check-in messages transmitted at predetermined intervals while in duty-cycled mode. This periodic maintenance of association improves communication efficiency by avoiding repeated connection handshakes, while the ultra-low power sleep mode between check-ins minimizes overall power consumption.
Data Source
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AI summary
A cloud-enabled low power Wi-Fi device is provided that includes a transceiver, a programmable processor, and executable control software stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium. The transceiver can be in a low power sleep mode until the programmable processor and the executable control software detect a first condition. When the programmable processor and the executable control software detect the first condition, the transceiver can exit the low power sleep mode and the programmable processor and the executable software can construct and transmit a message, via the transceiver, to a remote device. When the programmable processor and the executable control software detect a second condition, the transceiver can reenter the low power sleep mode.