Ambient backscatter: Free energy harvesting from TV signals, to power a ubiquito

GPS · Jul 8, 2013

Researchers at the University of Washington have created a new method of wireless networking that allows devices to communicate with each other without batteries or their own source of power. Dubbed “ambient backscatter,” this method sucks power out of the air from TV and cellular transmissions, and then modulates this signal with its own data. These modulated signals are then picked up by other devices in the same ambient backscatter network. Requiring a battery or other source of power is probably the most prohibitive factor when it comes to the ubiquity of electronic technology. In theory, this could be the breakthrough to finally allow for a ubiquitous internet of things, where every location is blanketed with devices and sensors that communicate with each other, creating truly smart homes, offices, and cities.

You may or may not realize this, but much of the Earth is blanketed in high-power radio waves, mostly from television and cellular towers. These towers pump out broadcast RF radiation that is picked up by your TV or mobile phone. There’s no “intelligence” or sophistication in such a method — the radio waves aren’t targeted directly at your television set or phone. The waves are just floating around in the atmosphere, waiting to be plucked out of thin air by a receiver that’s tuned to the right frequency. In most cases, the receiver then processes these radio waves into useful data, which is then displayed on a screen or played through an earpiece.
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Read more and see photos via the source link.

Source ExtremeTech:
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/160634-ambient-backscatter-free-energy-harvesting-from-tv-signals-to-power-a-ubiquitous-internet-of-things

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