SBIR Phase I: Developing an Ultra Energy Efficient Sensor Node Using RFID Technology

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段的研究项目建议开发一个超节能的无线传感器节点使用RFID技术。通过提供超能效并因此延长网络寿命，所提出的解决方案可以显著降低由于更换/再充电电池以及中断具有长部署寿命的网络的正常操作而导致的经常性维护成本。拟议任务的成果是一个无线传感器平台的原型，该平台将提供超能效，与现有解决方案相比至少提高5-10倍。该方法是将无线传感器平台与射频识别（RFID）技术相结合。在传统的设计中，同步，周期性的睡眠/唤醒的传感器节点被用作节能的主导策略相比，我们采用了创新的异步通信架构，传感器节点被允许独立地传输，而不需要任何同步。该方法从根本上不同于现有的设计范式;创新的异步通信架构允许传感器节点直接将数据写入位于接收节点上的特殊反应模块，而其主平台处于休眠状态。通过这种方式，每个单独的传感器可以调度自己的传输，而不需要任何网络范围或本地同步，从而导致网络中的存储转发异步通信模式。由于传感器节点的低占空比，所提出的异步架构将解放网络的冲突和空闲侦听充分利用时间作为一个维度的资源。其结果是设计实现了能源效率的数量级改进。无线传感器网络寿命的延长将在节省由于更换/再充电电池和中断正常操作的技术与爆炸式市场的经常性维护成本方面具有显着的商业潜力。此外，该技术可以实现大量的应用，在现有的设计下是不可行的，这些应用需要非常大规模的传感器网络和长期运行的超能效。其中包括生境、海洋和行星监测以及基础设施的监督。此外，这个综合性的前沿项目需要一个系统的和协同的方法，结合无线网络，嵌入式系统设计和低功耗无线电，还应该通过专注于一个共同的和具有挑战性的目标，促进知识在各个领域的融合。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project proposes to develop an ultra-energy efficient wireless sensor node using RFID technology. By providing ultra energy efficiency and hence extended network life time, the proposed solution can significantly reduce recurring maintenance cost due to replacing/recharging batteries and interruption of normal operation for networks with long deployment lifetime. The outcome of the proposed tasks is a prototype of a wireless sensor platform that will provide ultra-energy efficiency, at least 5-10 times improvement as compared to existing solutions. The approach is to uniquely combine wireless sensor platform with radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. In contrast to conventional designs where synchronized, periodic sleep/wakeup of sensor nodes are used as the dominant strategy for energy conservation, we employ an innovative asynchronous communication architecture, where sensor nodes are allowed to independently transmit without requiring any synchronization. The approach is fundamentally different from existing design paradigms; the innovative asynchronous communication architecture allows a sensor node to directly write data into a special, reactive module residing on the receiving node while its main platform is asleep. In this way, each individual sensor can schedule its own transmission without demanding any network-wide or local synchronization, thus resulting in a store-and-forward, asynchronous communication pattern in the network. Owing to the low duty cycle of a sensor node, the proposed asynchronous architecture will liberate the network from collisions and idle listening by fully exploiting time as one dimension of resource. The result is a design achieving order of magnitude improvement in energy efficiency. The extension of a wireless sensor network's life time will have significant commercial potential in saving recurring maintenance cost due to replacing/recharging batteries and disruption of normal operation for a technology with exploding market. Moreover, the technology can enable a plethora of applications, infeasible under existing designs, which demand extremely large scale sensor networks and ultra energy efficiency forlong term operation. These include habitat, oceanic and planetary monitoring and surveillance of infrastructures. Furthermore, this integrative, and cutting edge project demands a systematic and synergistic approach that combines wireless networking, embedded system design, and lower power radio, and should also promote the fusion of knowledge in various domains by focusing on a mutual and challenging objective.