Powering Wireless Sensor Networks Nodes for Complex Protocols on Harvested Energy

The energy source is one of the main constraints in many aspects of modern life. This fact is of crucial importance when addressing portable electronic devices operation. Portable devices, which can be considered as a distinctive characteristic of the 20th century last quarter, mostly rely on old battery technology as a source of energy. This fact is true for many autonomous electronic devices and is of vital importance when addressing Wireless Sensor Networks implementation. The most obvious energy source for a Wireless Sensor Network node is a battery. Batteries have nevertheless a number of drawbacks making them the main limitation when implementing these systems. Replacing batteries is therefore an important topic of both academic and industrial scientific work. This paper addresses software related implications of running a Wireless Sensor Network node that uses a complex communication protocol and is running on harvested energy.