Variable sleep period control of energy-efficient network interfaces for QoP-aware networked control systems

Abstract

In networked control systems, the quality of performance (QoP), such as in terms of consistent tracking errors, must be maintained at a constant level. A QoP-aware sleep mechanism in network interfaces can reduce the amount of traffic or the communication rate while maintaining the QoP. However, in a QoP-aware sleep mechanism with a fixed sleep period, the sleep period cannot be entered effectively when the length of the steady-state period is changed; e.g., when the command frequency is changed. This study proposes a variable sleep period control method to reduce the communication rate while adapting to the tracking error. The simulations confirm that, when compared to methods with a fixed sleep period, the proposed method reduces the communication rate regardless of the command frequency.