Analytical Model for the Energy Efficiency in Low Power IoT Deployments

The recent rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) has given way to numerous challenges and research questions. One of the most critical issues in the area of low powered devices is the question of energy efficiency. Here, technologies like LoRa or Zigbee emerged, promising low power consumption while maintaining adequate performance. However, even when using these tailor made technologies, several configuration aspects need to be taken into account to provide high performance, energy efficient operation. To this end, we propose a generic model to compute the energy efficiency of wireless sensors under the assumption of perfect CSMA/CA channel access. We present numerical results for a typical LoRa device and highlight extensions towards other channel access mechanisms. Finally, we apply Kleinrock's power metric to obtain ideal system configurations for varying load parameters.

Automated summary

The recent rise of IoT has brought up challenges and research questions, particularly in the area of low powered devices and their energy efficiency. This article proposes a generic model to compute the energy efficiency of wireless sensors, using perfect CSMA/CA channel access as an assumption. Numerical results for a typical LoRa device are presented, with potential extensions to other channel access mechanisms.