Demo Abstract: DPP3e: A Harvesting-based Dual Processor Platform for Advanced Indoor Environmental Sensing

Abstract

Wireless sensors form an integral part of the Internet of Things (IoT), standing at the edge between the cyber and physical domains. Acquiring and transmitting environmental data is an energy-intensive workload, especially when considering networks spanning large buildings or even cities. Many works aim to integrate energy harvesting into wireless sensors, providing them with a greater level of energy autonomy. Initially deployed for energy-rich outdoor environments, recent advances have allowed wireless sensors to efficiently utilize the reduced energy harvested in indoor lighting conditions. This demo introduces a harvesting-based Dual Processor Platform, the DPP3e, designed for energy harvesting in indoor environments. It features various sensors for advanced indoor environmental sensing, e.g. air quality measurements, a low-power display for immediate visual feedback, and a powerful microcontroller for energy-efficient inference of Tensorflow models. Furthermore, it has two separate RF interfaces: a 2.4 GHz Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) radio for short-range communication, and a sub-GHz transceiver for long-range communication. Using configurable power domains and advanced power management, it can sustain sending BLE packets every 5 seconds while consuming only 37 mu W.