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Batteryless RFID remote control

RF energy sources
Ambient RF energy is pervasive, especially from mobile and Wi-Fi
networks. ABI Research and IHS iSupply estimate that mobile
phone subscriptions has recently surpassed 5 billion, and the ITU
estimates there are over 1 billion subscriptions for mobile
broadband.

Mobile

phones

represent

large

source

of

transmitters from which to harvest RF energy, and will potentially


enable users to provide power-on-demand for a variety of closerange sensing applications. The number of Wi-Fi routers and
wireless end-point devices such as laptops is also significant. At
short range, such as within the same room, it is possible to
harvest a tiny amount of energy (microwatts) from a typical Wi-Fi
router transmitting at a power level of 50 to 100 mW. For longerrange operation, antennas with higher gain are needed for
practical harvesting of RF energy from mobile base stations and
broadcast

radio

towers.

In

2005,

Powercast

demonstrated

ambient RF energy harvesting at 1.5 miles (~2. 4 km) from a


small, 5-kW AM radio station. Subsequent demonstrations have
included harvesting RF energy from an iPhone in the GSM band
and from a nearby mobile base station.
When more power or more predictable energy is needed than
what is available from ambient sources, RF energy can be
broadcasted in unlicensed frequency bands such as 868 MHz, 915
MHz, 2.4 GHz, and 5.8 GHz. North American regulations limit the

output power of radios using certain unlicensed frequency bands


to 4 W effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP), as in the case of
radio-frequency-identification (RFID) readers typically found in
warehouses

at

loading

docks.

As

comparison,

earlier

generations of mobile phones based on analog technology had


maximum transmission power of 3.6 W.
RF harvesting receivers
RF-energy-harvesting

devices,

such

as

Powercasts

Powerharvester receivers, convert RF energy into dc power. These


components are easily added to OEM circuit board designs and
work with standard or custom 50- antennas. The RF sensitivity
of the P2110 Powerharvester receiver is 11 dBm, making it
possible to power devices or charge batteries at distances of 40
to 45 ft line-of-sight from a 3-W transmitter. Improving the RF
sensitivity allows for RF-to-dc power conversion at greater
distances from a source, but, of course, as the range increases,
the available power and rate of charge decreases.
An important performance aspect of an RF-energy harvester is the
ability to maintain RF-to-DC conversion efficiency over a wide
range of operating conditions, including variations of input power
and output load resistance. RF energy harvesting circuits that
accommodate multiband or wideband frequency ranges, and
automatic frequency tuning, will further increase the power
output,

potentially

installation.

expand

mobility

options,

and

simplify

Typical applications
Embedded wireless power technology enables products to have
improved reliability and extended life cycles by sealing energy
from nearby devices to either charge batteries or directly power
devices. At close range to a low-power transmitter, this energy
can be used to trickle charge a number of devices including GPS
or RLTS tracking tags, wearable medical sensors, and consumer
electronics such as e-book readers and headsets. At longer range,
the power can be used for battery-based or battery-free remote
sensors for environmental monitoring and building automation.
Depending on the power requirements and system operation,
power can be sent continuously, on either a scheduled basis or
on-demand.
Available power from a 3-W transmitter will be low milliwatts
within a few feet and low microwatts at around 60 ft. Any devices
that operate for weeks, months, or years on a single set of
batteries are good candidates for wireless recharging using RF
energy.
In some applications, simply augmenting the battery life or
offsetting the sleep current of a microcontroller is enough to
justify adding energy harvesting. A network of transmitters can be
positioned in a facility to provide wireless power on a room-byroom basis or to create a many-to-many charging topology.
Facility-wide, wireless micropower coverage can be achieved for
around $0.12 per square foot.

We have built small, credit card-sized devices equipped with


antennas that detect, harness and reflect those signals to similar
devices. Various places the device was tested around Seattle,
included a street corner, inside an apartment building and on top
of a parking garage ranging from less than half a mile away
from a TV tower to about 6.5. miles away.
The receiving devices picked up a signal at a rate of 1 kilobit per
second when 2.5 feet away from their outdoor counterparts and
1.5 feet apart when inside. Thats enough to transmit a text
message, sensor reading and contact information.
One potential to provide emergency power to cell phones when
the battery has died. There are countless other ways it could be

applied, such as letting you know that you forgot your keys, but
researchers want to advance the capacity and range of the
devices before creating too much expectation.

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