Enhanced software defined meter for smart utility networks

• A multi-standard and multi-utility reconfigurable smart meter is proposed.
• The software defined approach is pursued to be compliant with evolving standards.
• Heterogeneous reconfigurable approach is suggested as a viable solution.
• A proof-of-concept prototype is realized for testing complexity and feasibility.

Smart metering is considered as the enabling technology for improving efficiency and resource utilization, not only in electricity, but also in gas and water distribution. A multi-utility company could exploit wired and wireless communications to make homogenous access to smart metering even in hard-to-reach locations. For this reason, several standard solutions have been proposed in the recent past, all having a common approach based on the use of narrowband and robust modulation schemes. This paper suggests the adoption of a reconfigurable and multi-core approach for implementing a smart meter capable to easily switch among different standards and various application scenarios. The basic idea is to exploit the “software defined” paradigm for the realization of the three main units of a smart meter, i.e., the communication, the time synchronization and the measurement subsystems. A prototypal platform has been developed around low-cost GPP and DSP cores, using an FPGA for the implementation of reconfigurable peripherals, without losing in generality. Some experimental results have been carried out to verify the affordability and feasibility of the proposed approach, highlighting requirements in terms of computational and memory resource needs.