Low power 8051-MISA-based remote execution unit architecture for IoT and RFID applications

Using the existing microcontrollers in radio frequency identification (RFID)-based passive nodes requires too much power. There is a need to explore specific instruction sets of such microcontrollers based on target applications for low power. In this context, this paper describes a low-power wireless distributed single instruction multiple data (SIMD) architecture concept. This concept involves having the data and program instructions stored on a powered interrogator providing wireless supervisory control for the passive node that has a basic processing core called the remote execution unit (REU). This paper also proposes a novel REU architecture using a minimal instruction set architecture (MISA) based on 8051 C with the goal of reducing power consumption of a wireless passive node. Post-layout simulation results indicate significant reduction in power consumption and the area occupied by REU when compared to an existing 8051 core design. This low-power programmable REU architecture targets internet of things (IoT) and passive RFID applications.