Movement detection: A dynamic power switch for controlling movement dependent features

Abstract:
In order to reduce power consumption of mobile devices, it can be worth to (de)activate some functionality when required. The difficulty in this context is to determine when they are really necessary and when they are not. In the scope of the ITEA project GEODES (Global Energy Optimization for Distributed Embedded Systems), this paper describes how a movement detection system can be used as a dynamic power switch, able to (de)activate some features of a mobile device, depending on whether the user is moving or not. A theoretical model shows that significant power reduction can be achieved, depending however on the user movement profile. A simple, yet efficient, movement detection algorithm, using signals from low-cost accelerometers, has been developed and implemented on a real-time platform.