Average Power in Signals

Binary Channel Model

0

1-Pe0

P[IN=0]
Pe0

IN

OUT

Pe1

P[IN=1]

1-Pe1

BER=Pe0 P[IN=0] + Pe1P[IN=1]

Usually, the transmitter determines P[IN=0/1]

e.g. P[IN=0] = P[IN=1] = 0.5

Pe0 and Pe1 depend on

the transmit levels (rmin,rmax)

the power in the noise
the threshold

Inside the Binary Channel

IN = 0/1

channel

binary channel

y=r+v

>T

Under our simplifying assumptions, we can consider one bit at a time.

The channel adds an offset rmin and scaling by rmax-rmin

rmin if IN 0
r
rmax if IN 1

OUT = 0/1

The noise v is additive: y = r + v

The output is obtained by thresholding y:

0 if y T
OUT
1 if y T

T=threshold

Noise Leads to Bit Errors

IN

0
0

10

12

14

16

18

20

y=r+v
rmax

threshold

rmin
0

12

14

16

18

20

12

14

16

18

20

OUT

0
0

10

bit error!

10

Power Consumption
Power is energy used per unit time:
energy

power =

1 Watt = Unit of Power

Lifting an apple (~100g) up by 1m in 1s
requires ~1W

time

Batteries contain a fixed amount of energy.

The higher the power consumption of the

device they are powering, the faster this
energy is used up.

usable time =

energy
power consumption

Power Consumption
Calculating the amount of energy in a battery

Batteries are typically rated at fixed voltage

in volts (V) and a charge capacity in
milliamp-hours (mAh)

Multiplying these together gives the total

energy stored in the battery in milliwatthours (mWh)

For example, this mobile phone battery

contains 3700mWh of energy

Typical power consumption:

microwave oven 1000W

desktop computer 120W

notebook computer 40W

human brain 10W

mobile phone 1W

Average Power in Signals

For communication, we usually have signals that vary around an average value

rave = average value

For communication, we are interested in how much the signals differ from their
average: r r rave

Since r can be both positive and negative, its average value over many samples
is zero:
N

1
r n 0

N n1

The average power is the average squared value over many samples:

1 N
P r n
N n1

Average Power for Bit Signals

rmax
rave

rmin

Psignal

1 N
r n
N n1

If 0 and 1s are equally likely,

rave 12 rmin 12 rmax

If IN = 0,

If IN = 1,

r rmin rave rmin 12 rmin 12 rmax

1
2

rmin rmax

r rmax rave rmax 12 rmin 12 rmax

1
2

rmax rmin

The average power is

Psignal =

2
2
1 1
1
2 (rmax - rmin ) + 12 (rmax - rmin ) =
2
2

rmax - rmin
4