Researchers in America say they have created a wireless communication system that allows devices to communicate with each other without relying on batteries or wires for power and could play a vital role in the Internet of Things.
The communication technique—dubbed "ambient backscatter" by the University of Washington scientists—allows devices to communicate with each other by reflecting or absorbing preexisting radio signals from TV and mobile transmissions.
The energy-saving breakthrough could be particularly well suited to a home-based Internet of Things scenariowhere devices are usually within a few meters of each other.
The team has built small, battery-free devices with antennas that can detect, harness, and reflect a TV signal, which is then picked up by other similar devices.
"We can repurpose wireless signals that are already around us into both a source of power and a communication medium," said lead researcher Shyam Gollakota, a University of Washington assistant professor of computer science and engineering. "It's hopefully going to have applications in a number of areas including wearable computing, smart homes and self-sustaining sensor networks."
The researchers published their results at the Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Data Communication 2013 conference in Hong Kong, taking place in Hong Kong recently. They received the conference's best paper award for their research.
"Our devices form a network out of thin air," said co-author Joshua Smith, a UW associate professor of computer science and engineering. "You can reflect these signals slightly to create a Morse code of communication between battery-free devices."
Strategically placed sensors support network
According to the university, smart sensors could be built and placed permanently inside nearly any structure, then set to communicate with each other. It is claimed that the sensors could be placed in a bridge to monitor the health of the concrete and steel, then send an alert if one of the sensors picks up a hairline crack. The technology can also be used for communication—text messages and emails, for example—in wearable devices.
Source : PCWorld
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