Dynamic voltage scaling techniques for distributed microsensor networks

Abstract

Distributed microsensor networks promise a versatile and robust platform for remote environment monitoring. Crucial to long system lifetimes for these microsensors are algorithms and protocols that provide the option of trading quality for energy savings. Dynamic voltage scaling on the sensor node's processor enables energy savings from these scalable algorithms. We demonstrate dynamic voltage scaling on the beginnings of a sensor node prototype, which currently consists of a commercial processor, a digitally adjustable DC-DC regulator, and a power-aware operating system.