Office of Research, UC Riverside
Srikanth Krishnamurthy
Professor & Vice Chair for Academic Personnel
Computer Science & Engineering
krish@ucr.edu
(951) 827-2348


NeTS: Small: Collaborative Research: Towards a User Centric BatteryManagement System for Smartphones

AWARD NUMBER
006479-002
FUND NUMBER
21210
STATUS
Closed
AWARD TYPE
3-Grant
AWARD EXECUTION DATE
9/20/2013
BEGIN DATE
10/1/2013
END DATE
9/30/2016
AWARD AMOUNT
$300,000

Sponsor Information

SPONSOR AWARD NUMBER
CNS-1320148
SPONSOR
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
SPONSOR TYPE
Federal
FUNCTION
Organized Research
PROGRAM NAME

Proposal Information

PROPOSAL NUMBER
13060583
PROPOSAL TYPE
New
ACTIVITY TYPE
Basic Research

PI Information

PI
Krishnamurthy, Srikanth
PI TITLE
Other
PI DEPTARTMENT
Computer Science & Engineering
PI COLLEGE/SCHOOL
Bourns College of Engineering
CO PIs

Project Information

ABSTRACT

This proposal is motivated by the observation that the battery drain of an app in a mobile device is user-centric, i.e., it depends on several factors that are associated with specific usage patterns. These factors include but are not limited to the mode in which the app is used, the network coverage that the user enjoys and whether or not certain features of the app are turned on/off. In this project, the objectives are to (i) develop a fundamental understanding of the factors that influence the energy consumption of smartphone apps and, (ii) based on the understanding obtained, design and implement a user-centric battery management system that is called BLT.

The PIs plan to first undertake an extensive measurement study that will provide a comprehensive understanding of how and to what extent user-centric factors affect the energy consumption on a smartphone. Subsequently, they aim to tackle several challenges towards identifying the energy hungry apps on a user's smartphone; some of these challenges include the presence of several coexisting active apps at any given time. Finally, they will design and implement a set of solutions that allow a user to trade-off performance or content quality for energy savings. This project hinges on a strong experimental and prototyping effort, and the PIs will leverage the smartphone testbeds at UC Riverside and UC Davis towards undertaking the same.

The project will have an immediate broader impact in empowering users with an ability to control their battery usage. It will also allow users and developers in understanding why activities and apps result in high battery drain. The project will also undertake efforts towards inspiring K-12 students in our respective regions, and helping teachers develop projects for science olympiads. The project will include the modification of wireless networking courses taught at UCD and UCR, and new educational efforts on establishing courses that include design and implementation on mobile devices.
(Abstract from NSF)