Smart RF energy harvesting communications: challenges and opportunities

Abstract

Abstract-RF energy Harvesting (RFH) is emerging as a potential method for the proactive energy replenishment of next generation wireless networks. Unlike other harvesting techniques that depend on the environment, RFH can be predictable or ondemand, and as such it is better suited for supporting quality-ofservice-based applications. However, RFH efficiency is scarce due to low RF-to-DC conversion efficiency and receiver sensitivity. In this article, we identify the novel communication techniques that enable and enhance the usefulness of RFH. Backed by some experimental observations on RFH and the current state-of-theart, we discuss the challenges on the actual feasibility of RFH communications, new research directions, and the obstacles to their practical implementation.

Efficient Energy Management for the Internet of Things in Smart Cities

“…The aim of energy harvesting is to increase the lifetime of IoT devices. The research topics included within both types of energy harvesting are energy harvesting receiver design, energy arrival rate, placement of a minimum number of dedicated energy sources, scheduling of dedicated energy sources, and multi-path energy routing [2,6].…”

REACH: An Efficient MAC Protocol for RF Energy Harvesting in Wireless Sensor Network

“…Step 2 (5) Determine backoff Step 3 (6) Participate in channel contention (7) If success to channel occupation then: (8) Auto Charging as SCT origin (9) SCT origin ← SCT origin + SCT unit (10) CW random ← CW random + 1 (11) Else: (12) SCT origin ← SCT default (13) CW random ← CW random − 1 (14) End If (15) End While Algorithm 1: REACH.…”

“…Radio Frequency (RF) energy harvesting has been proposed [8,9] as a new energy source of sensors. It supplies stable power to peripheral sensors through Energy Transmitters (ETs) without being affected by the physical environment [10]. With these advantages, a lot of related works have been proposed [11] for determining the routing path [12], data aggregation method [13], improving the energy conversion efficiency [14], and duty-cycle control method [15].…”

Theory and Experiment for Wireless-Powered Sensor Networks: How to Keep Sensors Alive

“…The WPT for simultaneously charging multiple devices has been studied by some previous works [5]- [12]. The authors of [5] have researched the multi-node multi-antenna wireless-powered communication network (WPCN), in which the information is transmitted in the uplink by using the energy transferred in the downlink.…”

“…For example, a multiple device charging WPT system is proposed and implemented in [11], but the WPT in consideration is not the RF energy transfer but the nearfield WPT via magnetic resonance. In [12], the multi-hop and multi-path energy transfer is experimentally studied, but multiple device charging with a multi-antenna transmitter is not considered. Therefore, the experimental research on the multi-node multi-antenna WPSN is required for demonstrating the viability and usefulness of such type of WPSNs.…”