Power Optimization of WiFi Networks based on RSSI-awareness

• Main Authors: Bo Chen, Xi Li, Xuehai Zhou
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: European Alliance for Innovation (EAI) 2019-01-01
• Series: EAI Endorsed Transactions on Mobile Communications and Applications
• Subjects: Android; WiFi; received signal strength indication (RSSI),Power Save Mode
• Online Access: https://eudl.eu/pdf/10.4108/eai.14-12-2018.159335

This research analyzed the impact of Wi-Fi received signal strength indication (RSSI) on power consumptionof smart phones under different network environments. It was found that bad signal may lead to decreasein network link speed but increase in power consumption; whereas good signal contributed to rapidtransmission and low power consumption. To reduce the power consumption and prolong the battery life,through combination with the original IEEE 802.11 PS mechanism, an optimization mechanism based onRSSI-awareness was proposed which aggregated network packets and delayed transmission. In essence, theproposed mechanism functioned through decreasing the number of mode switches of Wi-Fi componentand extending the time of Wi-Fi stay in the Power-Save (PS) mode. Specifically, the signal strength wasdivided into three levels, including "good", "weak" or "bad". The decision tree was used to choose the besttransmission method (Normal / Lineral / Exporational Transmission) according to previous and current signalstrength. Algorithms were introduced to select the best split of decision tree for partitioning specific recordsinto smaller subsets. Finally, the proposed mechanism was performed on the TI pandaboard platform. Theresults indicated that the proposed mechanism was practical and able to reduce the power consumption ofsmartphones in an effective manner.