Intermittent OTA Code Update Framework for Tiny Energy Harvesting Devices

• Published in: IEEE transactions on computer-aided design of integrated circuits and systems p. 1
• Main Authors: Wei, Wei, Pan, Chen, Islam, Sahidul, Banerjee, Jishnu, Palanisamy, Shyamala, Xie, Mimi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 21-06-2024
• Subjects: Checkpointing; Codes; Embedded System; Energy harvesting; Hardware; Internet of Things; IoT; OTA Code Update; Security; Task analysis; Tiny Devices
• ISSN: 0278-0070; 1937-4151
• DOI: 10.1109/TCAD.2024.3418396

The widespread deployment of various tiny energy harvesting devices has facilitated the expansion of Internet of Things (IoT) applications, notably in remote and hard-to-reach areas. Once deployed, a critical limitation of these devices is their inability to adapt code to evolving environmental conditions or user requirements. This challenge primarily arises from frequent power interruptions during code updates in energy harvesting devices, unlike their battery-powered counterparts, which can lead to significant errors or system failures. In response, we have designed an innovative framework for facilitating intermittent over-the-air (OTA) code updates in tiny energy harvesting devices. Our approach incorporates Intermittent-aware Update Operations, including insert, modify, delete, and copy, tailored for a variety of update scenarios while accommodating intermittent power and resource constraints. Furthermore, We have designed a Fault-tolerant Bootloader that enables the intermittent update capability. This advanced bootloader enables code updates without system reboots and ensures correct task resumption of both routine and update tasks. This not only conserves energy by reducing the need for repetitive reboots but also ensures consistent code updates despite frequent power failures. Additionally, our framework integrates an Update-aware Checkpointing mechanism to provide reliable backups for both routine tasks and update tasks. This proposed framework presents a general solution for enabling intermittent code updates in tiny energy harvesting devices. Our experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach outperforms existing approaches under conditions of insufficient harvested energy.