Experimental evaluation of a WSN platform power consumption

Critical characteristics of wireless sensor networks, as being autonomous and comprising small or miniature devices are achieved at the expense of very strict available energy related limitations. Therefore, it is apparent that optimal resource management is among the most important challenges in WSNs development and success. However, energy management requires in depth knowledge and detailed insight concerning the factors contributing to the overall power consumption of a WSN mote. To achieve such awareness, appropriate measuring test-beds and methodologies are needed, enabling reliable and accurate power consumption measurements of critical functionalities. Moving towards that direction, the contribution of this paper is twofold. On one hand, the design and implementation of a system is presented, capable of accurately measuring and displaying a wide range of power consumption thresholds. On the other hand, the elementary functionalities of a WSN platform are identified, isolated and measured with respect to their contribution to the overall mote power consumption. Valuable conclusions are extracted and analyzed.