The combination of low-power design, energy harvesting and ultra-low-power wake-up radios is paving the way for perpetual operation of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). In this work we present the MagoNode++, a novel WSN platform supporting energy harvesting and radio-triggered wake ups for energy- neutral applications. The MagoNode++ features an energy- harvesting subsystem composed by a light or thermoelectric harvester, a battery manager and a power manager module. It further integrates a state-of-the-art RF Wake-Up Receiver (WUR) that enables low-latency asynchronous communication, virtually eliminating idle listening at the main transceiver. Experimental results show that the MagoNode++ consumes only 2.8uA with the WUR in idle listening and the rest of the platform in sleep state, making it suitable for energy-constrained WSN scenarios and for energy-neutral applications.

Emerging wake-up radio technologies have the potential to bring the performance of sensing systems and of the Internet of Things to the levels of low latency and very low energy consumption required to enable critical new applications. This paper provides a step towards this goal with a twofold contribution. We first describe the design and prototyping of a wake-up receiver (WRx) and its integration to a wireless sensor node. Our WRx features very low power consumption (<; 1.3μW), high sensitivity (up to -55dBm), fast reactivity (wake-up time of 130μs), and selective addressing, a key enabler of new high performance protocols. We then present ALBA-WUR, a cross-layer solution for data gathering in sensing systems that redesigns a previous leading protocol, ALBA-R, extending it to exploit the features of our WRx. We evaluate the performance of ALBA-WUR via simulations, showing that the use of the WRx produces remarkable energy savings (up to five orders of magnitude), and achieves lifetimes that are decades longer than those obtained by ALBA-R in sensing systems with duty cycling, while keeping latencies at bay.

In this paper we analyze the interaction between two communication protocols implemented in TinyOS 2.x: Deluge T2, an over-the-air programming protocol, and the Low Power Listening (LPL) implementation provided with the standard Medium Access Control layer, BoX-MAC. We show how the characteristics of the two layers deeply diverge, leading to a sensible performance degradation. We present REACTIVE, a simple algorithm that, integrated in Deluge, is able to dynamically disable and re-enable LPL in order to boost Deluge performance, leveraging on the critical aspects of the layers integration. REACTIVE is able to increase the performance of Deluge, compared to its standard implementation, by a factor of 2.6 in terms of energy efficiency and 7 in terms of dissemination time.

This poster presents the work done to monitor the structural health of a Rome B1 underground construction site through a battery-powered Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). We illustrate the specific requirements and challenges of working with wireless sensors underground, and we describe the solutions adopted for obtaining a working WSN that provides a robust solution of on line monitoring. We conclude by presenting an assessment and testing of these solutions, along with the design insights and the lessons we learned during this on-the-field experience.

The purpose of this demo is to introduce a new low-power wireless device for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) operating in the ISM 2.4Ghz band: the MagoNode. Thanks to a highly efficient RF front-end, that extends the radio range and increases link reliability, the MagoNode features out-standing RF performance, still containing energy consumption. The platform has been designed at the Department of Computer, Control, and Management Engineering Antonio Ruberti of the University of Rome La Sapienza in collaboration with the spin-off WSense [1].