Power and Control in Networked Sensors

The fundamental constraint on a networked sensor is its energy consumption, since it may be either impossible or not feasible to replace its energy source. We analyze the power dissipation implications of implementing the network sensor with either a central processor switching between i/o devices or a family of processors, each dedicated to a single device. We present the energy measurements of the current generations of networked sensors, and develop an abstract description of tradeoffs between both designs.