Next-generation Cyber-Physical Systems Utilizing RF-Powered Computing

RF-powered computing is an emerging technology in which small computing devices use ambient and controlled electromagnetic radio frequency (RF) waves for power and communication. This technology can favor a wide range of applications from indoor elderly patient monitoring to outdoor bridge health monitoring for detecting the dangers. However, the coexistence of data communication and energy comes at the cost of new challenges.

This talk is structured around three parts. We first describe RF-powered CPS and some design challenges in these systems, which highlight the need to engineer a system that manage energy interference, coordinate the distribution of wireless energy transfers, control the power, and schedule optimal times for data and energy communications. We share the latest experimental results on evaluating the concurrent low-power data and high-power energy transfer as well as surviving wireless energy interference.

Second, we will introduce a medium access protocol for ET and sensor coordination that jointly selects energy transmitters and their frequencies based on the collective impact on charging time and energy interference, sets the maximum energy charging threshold, requests and grants energy, and decides the access priority of both data and energy. Finally, we will discuss our ongoing research on a cognitive RF-powered energy harvesting system that allows sensors equipped with multi-band RF harvester to operate continuously by switching between harvesting energy from ambient cellular/TV bands as well as unlicensed bands that have directed power transfer.

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