ENACT requires many devices to be used for extended periods of time by volunteers. Also, high volumes of critical and time-sensitive data will be collected, which may lead to more energy consumption.
In this context, the team led by the i-SENSE group of ICCS develops and applies techniques to increase energy-autonomy and lower energy loss in the sensing platforms developed in the project, their networking infrastructures, and local data processing and communication protocols.
The team started by collecting detailed information on sensing devices under development, prototype environmental sensing devices themselves, along with their documentation and software for energy efficiency testing and profiling. In parallel, they developed methodologies to measure and document the power efficiency of the environmental and physiological wearables. The team is currently estimating the energy consumption of the devices based on hardware specifications and use case scenarios, as well as assisting other partners in investigating the power optimization of their wearables. Some of our energy-conservation methodologies have already been integrated into the sensors.
Towards Energy-Efficient Sensing Devices
In the next few months, ENACT plans to finalize the energy consumption estimations, validate the initial environmental wearable optimization results, and evaluate the final devices to ensure optimal power efficiency and longest possible autonomous operation.
Ultimately, reducing power consumption will have a significant impact on the overall environmental footprint of the project in alignment with the European Digital Strategy. Moreover, longer battery life will lead to higher uptake for ENACT participants towards the successful completion of the project.