Low-Power and Low-Cost Environmental IoT Electronic Nose Using Initial Action Period Measurements.

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Sensor Technology
• Embedded Systems

Background:

• Portable electronic noses are crucial for remote environmental monitoring.
• Optimizing power consumption is key for long-term IoT deployments.
• The ESP8266EX System on Chip (SoC) offers integrated processing and Wi-Fi capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and analyze the hardware and current consumption of a portable electronic nose for IoT.
• To optimize the device's power management for extended battery life.
• To demonstrate the feasibility of battery-powered, cloud-connected gas sensing.

Main Methods:

• Hardware development utilizing the ESP8266EX SoC and Figaro TGS26xx series sensors.
• Implementation of a deep-sleep software strategy for the microcontroller.
• Periodic measurement and data uploading protocol optimization.
• Characterization of current consumption and battery life.

Main Results:

• The system achieves approximately one month of operation with a 750 mAh battery under specific measurement and upload schedules (4 min intervals, 5 measurements before upload).
• Optimized deep-sleep cycles significantly reduce overall power draw.
• The hardware design is cost-effective, using standard components.

Conclusions:

• The developed portable electronic nose is suitable for long-term, low-maintenance IoT applications.
• The power optimization methodology is generic and applicable to other low-consumption sensors.
• Extended battery life is achievable through strategic hardware and software design.