Authors:
Kai Lehniger
and
Stefan Weidling
Affiliation:
IHP - Leibniz-Institut für innovative Mikroelektronik, Im Technologiepark 25, 15236 Frankfurt (Oder) and Germany
Keyword(s):
Wireless Sensor Networks, WSN, Code Update, Over-the-air, Incremental Reprogramming, Delta, Page-based, Low-power.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Energy Efficiency
;
Energy Efficiency and Green Manufacturing
;
Industrial Engineering
;
Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics
;
Obstacles
;
Programming and Middleware
;
Sensor Networks
;
Software and Architectures
Abstract:
Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) may require code updates for a variety of reasons, such as fixing bugs, closing security holes or extending functionality. WSNs typically have limited resources available and wireless updates are costly in terms of energy and can lead to early battery failure. The idea of incremental code updates is to conserve energy by reusing the existing code image on the node and disseminating only a delta file that is generated by differencing algorithms, which can be used to reconstruct the new image. Beyond these differencing algorithms, there are other strategies to minimize the delta, e.g., reconstructing only the changed parts of the image. This paper points out possible implications of diverse execution strategies and gives suggestions. In addition to the usual delta size, the impact on the flash memory was considered. The presented results can be used to select a fitting strategy for a given use case.