Power Management for Bluetooth Sensor Networks

Abstract

Abstract. Low power is a primary concern in the field of wireless sensor networks. Bluetooth has often been labeled as an inappropriate technology in this field due to its high power consumption. However, most Bluetooth studies employ rather over-simplified, fully theoretical, or inadequate power models. We present a power model of Bluetooth including scatternet configurations and low-power sniff mode and validate it experimentally on a real Bluetooth module. Based on this model, we introduce a power optimization framework employing MILP (Mixed-Integer Linear Programming) techniques, and devise optimal power management policies in the presence of end-to-end delay constraints. Our optimizations, if backed by power-aggressive hardware implementations, can make Bluetooth viable for a wider range of sensor networks.

A Bluetooth-based Sensor Node for Low-Power Ad Hoc Networks

“…Shortly after Bluetooth started to increase in popularity as a technology for cable replacement and began to provide a base for wireless Personal Area Networks (PANs), interest also emerged in the sensor networks research community [5]. The frequency hopping approach makes Bluetooth relatively immune to electromagnetic interference [6], and the large number of Bluetooth-enabled consumer electronic devices provides an infrastructure that can be utilized by sensor nodes to achieve global Internet connectivity.…”