Delay-Limited Communications of Mobile Node With Wireless Energy Harvesting: Performance Analysis and Optimization

Wireless energy harvesting is a promising feature for supplying energy to a wireless device. However, this wireless energy supply to a mobile node is random due to mobility. In this paper, we consider performance analysis and optimization for a mobile node with delay-limited communications and wireless energy harvesting capability. Three major issues are considered: 1) an optimal transmission policy for the mobile node; 2) an energy management strategy; and 3) deployment of wireless power sources. First, a constrained Markov decision process (CMDP) model is formulated and solved to obtain the optimal packet transmission policy for minimizing the loss probability due to delay deadline violation. Second, the distributed energy management strategies of wireless power sources are analyzed. Specifically, the threshold-based strategy is considered, where the wireless power source releases wireless energy only when there are a certain number of mobile nodes in its harvesting coverage. Third, the wireless power sources can be optimally deployed to minimize the long-term cost composed of deployment and power consumption costs. The analysis and optimization are presented in a unified framework, which can be applied to the given issues jointly.