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In one embodiment, a communication device of a communication network determines its available power level, and also estimates a power requirement to receive an expected transmission from a transmitter of the communication network. By determining whether the available power level is sufficient for th

In one embodiment, a communication device of a communication network determines its available power level, and also estimates a power requirement to receive an expected transmission from a transmitter of the communication network. By determining whether the available power level is sufficient for the estimated power requirement, the device may correspondingly provide feedback to the transmitter regarding whether the available power level is sufficient for the estimated power requirement (e.g., if insufficient, either ignoring the transmission or returning an explicit reply). In another embodiment, further power conservation may be afforded through a radio-triggered wake-up mechanism.

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1. A method, comprising: determining an available power level at a communication device of a communication network;estimating a power requirement to receive an expected transmission at the device from a transmitter of the communication network;determining whether the available power level is suffici

1. A method, comprising: determining an available power level at a communication device of a communication network;estimating a power requirement to receive an expected transmission at the device from a transmitter of the communication network;determining whether the available power level is sufficient for the estimated power requirement; andproviding feedback to the transmitter regarding whether the available power level is sufficient for the estimated power requirement, whereinwhen the available power level is insufficient for the estimated power requirement, the feedback triggers the transmitter to adjust a routing of the expected transmission. 2. The method as in claim 1, further comprising: receiving a burst of radio frequency (RF) energy at the device while the device is in a sleep mode, the RF energy intended to wake up the device; andconverting the received RF energy into a wake-up signal, without using any power of the device, to wake the device from the sleep mode, wherein the device determines whether the available power level is sufficient for the estimated power requirement and provides feedback while awake. 3. The method as in claim 2, wherein the RF energy is specifically tuned to wake up only the particular device. 4. The method as in claim 2, wherein the device is configured to only be awakened from the sleep mode by the wake-up signal. 5. The method as in claim 1, wherein estimating the power requirement to receive the expected transmission comprises determining one of either a length of the transmission or a number of packets within the transmission. 6. The method as in claim 1, wherein providing feedback comprises: ignoring the transmission without acknowledgment to provide an implicit feedback that the available power level is insufficient. 7. The method as in claim 1, wherein providing feedback comprises: returning a reply message to provide an explicit feedback that the available power level is insufficient. 8. The method as in claim 1, wherein determining whether the available power level is sufficient for the estimated power requirement is based on a minimum threshold power level approximate to enough power to transmit one or more messages from the device. 9. The method as in claim 1, wherein determining whether the available power level is sufficient for the estimated power requirement is based on a minimum threshold power level for the device to act as a router. 10. The method as in claim 1, wherein determining whether the available power level is sufficient for the estimated power requirement is based on a minimum threshold power level, the method further comprising: determining that the expected transmission is a critical transmission; andin response, attempting to receive and process the expected transmission at the device. 11. The method as in claim 1, further comprising: cycling the device between a sleep mode and an awake mode of operation. 12. The method as in claim 1, wherein the device is powered by one of either a battery or energy-harvesting circuitry. 13. An apparatus, comprising: a power supply having an available power level;one or more network interfaces to communicate within a communication network;a processor coupled to the network interfaces and adapted to execute one or more processes; anda memory configured to store a process executable by the processor, the process when executed operable to: determine the available power level;estimate a power requirement to receive an expected transmission from a transmitter of the communication network;determine whether the available power level is sufficient for the estimated power requirement; andprovide feedback to the transmitter regarding whether the available power level is sufficient for the estimated power requirement, whereinwhen the available power level is insufficient for the estimated power requirement, the feedback triggers the transmitter to adjust a routing of the expected transmission. 14. The apparatus as in claim 13, further comprising: radio-triggered wake-up circuitry configured to receive a burst of radio frequency (RF) energy while the process is in a sleep mode, the RF energy intended to wake up the process, the circuitry further configured to convert the received RF energy into a wake-up signal, without using any power of the power supply, to wake the process from the sleep mode, wherein the process determines whether the available power level is sufficient for the estimated power requirement and provides feedback while awake. 15. The apparatus as in claim 14, wherein the circuitry is configured such that the wake-up signal is generated in response only to RF energy specifically tuned to the particular device. 16. The apparatus as in claim 14, wherein the process is configured to only be awakened from the sleep mode by the wake-up signal. 17. The apparatus as in claim 13, wherein the process when executed to estimate the power requirement to receive the expected transmission is further operable to: determine one of either a length of the transmission or a number of packets within the transmission. 18. The apparatus as in claim 13, wherein the process when executed to provide feedback is further operable to one of either i) ignore the transmission without acknowledgment to provide an implicit feedback that the available power level is insufficient, or ii) return a reply message to provide an explicit feedback that the available power level is insufficient. 19. The apparatus as in claim 13, wherein the process when executed to determine whether the available power level is sufficient for the estimated power requirement is based on a minimum threshold power level approximate to enough power to transmit one or more messages from the apparatus. 20. The apparatus as in claim 13, wherein the process when executed to determine whether the available power level is sufficient for the estimated power requirement is based on a minimum threshold power level for the apparatus to act as a router. 21. The apparatus as in claim 13, wherein the process when executed to determine whether the available power level is sufficient for the estimated power requirement is based on a minimum threshold power level, the process when executed further operable to: determine that the expected transmission is a critical transmission; andin response, attempt to receive and process the expected transmission. 22. The apparatus as in claim 13, wherein the process when executed is further operable to: cycle between a sleep mode and an awake mode of operation. 23. The apparatus as in claim 13, wherein the power supply is one of either a battery or energy-harvesting circuitry. 24. A tangible, non-transitory, computer-readable media having software encoded thereon, the software, when executed by a processor on a communication device of a communication network, operable to: determine an available power level at the communication device;estimate a power requirement to receive an expected transmission at the device from a transmitter of the communication network;determine whether the available power level is sufficient for the estimated power requirement; andprovide feedback to the transmitter regarding whether the available power level is sufficient for the estimated power requirement, whereinwhen the available power level is insufficient for the estimated power requirement, the feedback triggers the transmitter to adjust a routing of the expected transmission. 25. The computer-readable media as in claim 24, wherein the device comprises radio-triggered wake-up circuitry configured to receive a burst of radio frequency (RF) energy while the processor is in a sleep mode, the RF energy intended to wake up the process, the circuitry further configured to convert the received RF energy into a wake-up signal, without using any power of the device, to wake the processor from the sleep mode, wherein the processor determines whether the available power level is sufficient for the estimated power requirement and provides feedback while awake.