Wireless autonomous transducer solutions
Ultra-low power wireless communication
In today’s wireless transducer systems, up to 70% of the power is used for the wireless communication. Imec at Holst Centre is investigating techniques and devices to reduce this heavy power drain. This will enable extending the functionality and autonomy of wireless sensor networks.
The program looks at low data rate communications (< 1Mbps), with the goal of reducing power consumption by an order of magnitude. Ultimately, we’re aiming for transceivers that enable 200kbps channels for industrial control (equivalent to Zigbee) with a power consumption of just 200µW. That equates to 1nJ/bit – a factor of 100 more efficient than Zigbee. These transceivers would be ideal for systems running on scavenged power or for ‘install and forget’ sensor systems for long-term monitoring. This includes body area networks (BANs), ‘go-anywhere’ health and comfort monitoring, industrial control and predictive maintenance.
IC design is a vital element in power reduction. But so is the development of new protocols and specifications. Therefore, we are also active in such organisations as the IEEE 802.15.6 working group for BAN (Body Area Network) standardization. These activities ensure early access to standards. As a result, we were the first to deliver real hardware for 802.15.4a low bit rate UWB.
In addition to ultra low power transceivers, we are developing ‘wake-up’ radios with continuous power consumption below 50µW. Consuming considerably less power than the system’s main radio, these devices monitor communications channels for wake signals, allowing the main radio to be powered down when it is not needed.