Method and apparatus for distributed processing for wireless sensors

Abstract

Certain aspects of the present disclosure relate to a method for compressed sensing (CS). The CS is a signal processing concept wherein significantly fewer sensor measurements than that suggested by Shannon/Nyquist sampling theorem can be used to recover signals with arbitrarily fine resolution. In this disclosure, the CS framework is applied for sensor signal processing in order to support low power robust sensors and reliable communication in Body Area Networks (BANs) for healthcare and fitness applications.

1 . A method of data communication, the method comprising:
 obtaining an analog signal;   determining a digital signal based, at least in part, on the analog signal, wherein determining the digital signal comprises,
 conditioning the analog signal, and 
 sampling the conditioned analog signal at non-uniform time instances, 
   generating at least one packet comprising, at least in part, the digital signal; and   transmitting the at least one packet over a wireless channel.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein conditioning the analog signal comprising amplifying the analog signal with a low noise amplifier. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein sampling the conditioned analog signal comprises sampling and holding the conditioned analog signal and quantizing the sampled and held signal. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the analog signal is not passed through an anti aliasing filter. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein a total number of samples in the digital signal is less that a number of samples corresponding to Nyquist rate sampling. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a number of clock cycles separating at least a first pair of adjacent samples in the digital signal is different than a number of clock cycles separating at least a second pair of adjacent samples in the digital signal. 
     
     
         7 . An apparatus for data communication comprising:
 a transducer configured to generate an analog signal;   a signal conditioner configured to condition the generated analog signal;   a signal sampler is configured to determine a digital signal by sampling the conditioned analog signal at non-uniform time instances;   a processing system configured to generate at least one packet comprising, at least in part, the digital signal; and   a transmitter configured to transmit the at least one packet.   
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the signal conditioner comprises a low noise amplifier circuit. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the signal sampler comprises a sample and hold circuit in line with a quantizing circuit. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the apparatus does not comprise an anti aliasing filter. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 7  wherein a total number of samples in the digital signal is less that a number of samples corresponding to Nyquist rate sampling. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein a number of clock cycles separating at least a first pair of adjacent samples in the digital signal is different than a number of clock cycles separating at least a second pair of adjacent samples in the digital signal. 
     
     
         13 . An apparatus for data communication comprising:
 means for obtaining an analog signal;   means for determining a digital signal based, at least in part, on the analog signal, wherein the means for determining the digital signal comprises,
 means for conditioning the analog signal, and 
 means for sampling the conditioned analog signal at non-uniform time instances, 
   means for generating at least one packet comprising, at least in part, the digital signal; and   means for transmitting the packet over a wireless channel.   
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the means for conditioning comprises a low noise amplifier circuit. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the means for sampling the conditioned signal comprises a sample and hold circuit in line with a quantizing circuit. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the apparatus does not comprise an anti aliasing filter. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 13  wherein a total number of samples in the digital signal is less that a number of samples corresponding to Nyquist rate sampling. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein a number of clock cycles separating at least a first pair of adjacent samples in the digital signal is different than a number of clock cycles separating at least a second pair of adjacent samples in the digital signal. 
     
     
         19 . A computer program product comprising:
 a computer-readable medium having stored thereon, computer executable instructions that, if executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform a method comprising:   obtaining an analog signal;   determining a digital signal based, at least in part, on the analog signal, wherein determining the digital signal comprises,
 conditioning the analog signal, and 
 sampling the conditioned analog signal at non-uniform time instances, 
   generating at least one packet comprising, at least in part the digital signal; and   transmitting the packet over a wireless channel.   
     
     
         20 . A sensing device comprising:
 a transducer configured to receive an analog signal;   a signal conditioner configured to condition the received analog signal;   a signal sampler configured to determine a digital signal by sampling the conditioned analog signal at non-uniform time instances;   a processing system coupled to generate at least one packet comprising, at least in part, the digital signal;   an antenna; and   a transmitter configured to transmit, via the antenna, the at least one packet.