Energy management has been a critical problem since the earliest days of mobile computing. Although a large research investment in low-power circuit design and hardware power management has led to more energy-efficient systems, there is a growing realization that more is needed---the higher levels of the system must also contribute to energy conservation.
In this talk, I will show how the operating system and applications can be an important part of a comprehensive energy management strategy. I will first describe PowerScope, an energy-profiler that enables developers to improve the energy-efficiency of their software. I will then show how applications can adapt their behavior to conserve energy when battery levels are critical. My results show that applications can reduce energy usage by an average of 50% and by as much as 94% through variation in the quality of output presented to the user and execution of functionality on remote servers.
I will then show how the operating system can use feedback to manage energy as a resource. Users specify a desired battery lifetime, and the system ensures that the specified goal is met. The system monitors energy supply and demand in order to guide applications to strike the correct balance between quality and energy conservation. Results show that my approach can effectively meet battery lifetime goals that vary by as much as 30%.
Monday, March 18 @ 3:00 p.m. in Duncan Hall 1070
Reception to follow in DH 3092.
About Jason Flinn
Jason Flinn received his Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University in December 2001. Previously, he received a B.S.E. in Computer Science and Engineering and a B.S. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a M.S. in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University. His research interests include pervasive and mobile computing, energy management, operating systems, and distributed systems. Currently, he is a post-doc at Intel Research Pittsburgh. In his spare time, he patiently explains to people why baseball is interesting.
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