Abstract

In this paper, experiments are conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a novel adaptive power control algorithm in terms of energy efficiency in heart rate monitoring scenario of a mobile adult in a typical home environment. As part of health care, persons with heart related problems are required to be monitored by logging for example, their heart rate on a regular basis to check for any anomaly. At the same time, it is expected that the person in question should be able to move freely within the given facility. The wireless sensors that are attached to the person send periodic data to the central base station. Since the person is mobile, the distance between the transmitting sensor and the base station changes with time. Since the signal path-loss is primarily dependent on distance and the number and type of obstructions between the transmitter and the receiver, it may be wise to use transmission power control to modulate the transmit power. Using power control, the sensor can adjust the level that is sufficient to send the data through the wireless channel without wasting energy. Conservation of energy is critical in wireless sensor network scenarios because they are powered by batteries which have limited lifetime. A critical application like the heart rate monitoring sensor is expected to operate for a reasonable amount of time before the battery dies. The novel adaptive power control algorithm uses intelligent modulation methods to ramp up or ramp down the transmission power level as and when required. By this method, the operational lifetime of the wireless sensor can be extended. As part of the experimental methodology for this paper, two subjects of different age groups have been used. Experimental results show that there is at least a 12% increase in the energy savings using the proposed algorithm.