WLAN Activity-Based Power Estimation Under Thermal Limits
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems fail to efficiently manage power consumption and thermal mitigation in battery-powered devices, particularly in artificial reality systems like VR, AR, and MR, leading to potential device damage and reduced user experience.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for estimating average power consumption by measuring transmission, reception, and listen times in wireless communication, and adjusting power consumption based on these metrics, along with thermal management to prevent overheating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If power consumption is increased to maintain performance in artificial reality systems, then user experience and performance are improved, but thermal levels increase causing device damage and reduced reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts power consumption of subsystems based on real-time thermal conditions and power budget availability. The controller continuously monitors thermal levels and modifies operational parameters (such as CPU frequency, GPU performance, display refresh rate) to maintain performance within safe thermal boundaries, transforming the static performance-thermal tradeoff into a dynamic optimization process
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters of subsystems in response to thermal and power conditions. When thermal levels exceed thresholds or power budget is constrained, the controller modifies parameters such as processing speed, transmission power, and component activation states to reduce heat generation while attempting to preserve acceptable performance levels
2Reliability
If power consumption is reduced to manage thermal levels, then device reliability is improved, but performance and user experience deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a closed-loop feedback mechanism where thermal sensors and power management circuits continuously monitor system state, and the controller adjusts power distribution based on this feedback. This allows the system to automatically reduce power to specific subsystems when thermal thresholds are approached, preventing device damage while minimizing performance impact through targeted rather than blanket power reduction
Solution Approach 2:
The power management system divides the device into independent controllable subsystems (processing unit, display, communication, sensors) and applies differential power management to each. This segmentation allows selective power reduction in non-critical subsystems while maintaining power to essential functions, thereby preserving overall performance while managing thermal load
3Reliability
If transmission power is increased for better wireless communication, then communication quality is improved, but power consumption increases contributing to thermal issues
Solution Approach 1:
The wireless communication subsystem dynamically adjusts transmission power based on real-time channel conditions, distance to access point, and current thermal/power budget status. The system uses signal quality feedback to modulate transmission power, increasing it only when necessary for maintaining communication reliability, thereby reducing unnecessary power consumption and heat generation during good signal conditions
Data Source
AI summary
A system may include one or more processors. The one or more processors may be configured to obtain, from a device configured to perform communication in a wireless local area network (WLAN), a transmission (Tx) time for which the device is transmitting one or more signals during a period of time, a receive (Rx) time for which the device is receiving one or more signals during the period of time, and/or a listen time for which the device is in a listen state during the period of time. The one or more processors may be configured to estimate, based at least on the Tx time, the Rx time and the listen time, an average power consumption value of the device during the period of time. The one or more processors may be configured to control the device based at least on the average power consumption value.