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posted by chromas on Saturday April 21 2018, @11:24PM   Printer-friendly

RF-powered computers are small devices that compute and communicate using only the power that they harvest from RF signals. While existing technologies have harvested power from ambient RF sources (e.g., TV broadcasts), they require a dedicated gateway (like an RFID reader) for Internet connectivity. We present Wi-Fi Backscatter, a novel communication system that bridges RF-powered devices with the Internet. Specifically, we show that it is possible to reuse existing Wi-Fi infrastructure to provide Internet connectivity to RF-powered devices.

From the PDF:

[W]e seek to design RF-powered devices that communicate directly with commodity Wi-Fi devices. A positive answer would pave the way for a rapid and simple deployment of the RF-powered Internet of Things by letting these devices connect to existing mobile phones and Wi-Fi APs. It would also expand the functionality of Wi-Fi networks in a new direction: from providing connectivity to existing Wi-Fi clients to a whole new class of battery-free devices.

Achieving this capability, however, is challenging since conventional low-power Wi-Fi transceivers require much more power than is available from ambient RF signals. Thus, it is not feasible for RF-powered devices to literally speak the Wi-Fi protocol. Conversely, since existing Wi-Fi devices are specifically designed to receive Wi-Fi signals, it is unclear how they would decode other kinds of signals from RF-powered devices.

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 22 2018, @01:50AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 22 2018, @01:50AM (#670219)

    Ironically, you need some of these developments to have your decentralized meshnet.

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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by MostCynical on Sunday April 22 2018, @02:34AM

    by MostCynical (2589) on Sunday April 22 2018, @02:34AM (#670224) Journal

    Don't hold yor breath!

    --
    "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex