Radio-frequency wakeup for vehicle systems

A method of powering on a system for monitoring a component of a vehicle, the method comprising:

• transmitting, by a manager positioned on the vehicle, a wakeup signal in response to a vehicle event;
• receiving, by a wakeup circuit of a wireless node, the wakeup signal through an antenna connected to the wakeup circuit, wherein the wireless node is positioned to monitor the component of the vehicle;
• powering on, by the wakeup circuit, a node transceiver of the wireless node in response to receipt of the wakeup signal;
• and
• transmitting, by the node transceiver, data to the manager.

A system for wirelessly monitoring a component of a vehicle, the system comprising:

• a first manager positioned on the vehicle and configured to wirelessly transmit at least one wakeup packet in response to a vehicle event;
• a plurality of wireless nodes each positioned to monitor a component of the vehicle, each wireless node comprising:
• an antenna;
• an radio-frequency (RF) wakeup circuit connected to the antenna and configured to monitor received radio-frequency energy for the at least one wakeup packet;
• and
• a node transceiver configured to perform wireless communication with the manager, wherein the RF wakeup circuit is configured to power on the node transceiver upon receipt of the wakeup packet.