Instruction-Level Power Estimator for Sensor Networks

In sensor networks, analyzing power consumption before actual deployment is crucial for maximizing service lifetime. This paper proposes an instruction-level power estimator (IPEN) for sensor networks. IPEN is an accurate and fine grain power estimation tool, using an instruction-level simulator. It is independent of the operating system, so many different kinds of sensor node software can be simulated for estimation. We have developed the power model of a Micaz-compatible mote. The power consumption of the ATmega128L microcontroller is modeled with the base energy cost and the instruction overheads. The CC2420 communication component and other peripherals are modeled according to their operation states. The energy consumption estimation module profiles peripheral accesses and function calls while an application is running. IPEN has shown excellent power estimation accuracy, with less than 5% estimation error compared to real sensor network implementation. With IPEN's high precision instruction-level energy prediction, users can accurately estimate a sensor network's energy consumption and achieve fine-grained optimization of their software.