Do you know what’s annoying about IoT (well, except for security, which doesn’t exist)? B…

Do you know what's annoying about IoT ( well, except for security, which is non-existent )? Batteries 😴

This is the moment when the motion sensor, which was hanging on the wall for six months, suddenly stops working because it “sits down”, and you go to look for where you have the CR2032s that you supposedly ordered, but they always seem to teleport somewhere in a parallel universe. Or when you drill into a wall just to connect the sensor to an outlet because it’s “more reliable” 😵

But it seems the guys from ITMO decided this problem. And they didn’t “promise”, didn’t “write an article”, but actually assembled a working prototype and showed it live

In February, ITMO presented Russia’s first technology for wireless power supply of IoT devices in the far zone. This is when the transmitter hangs, say, on the ceiling, and the sensors work quietly on the walls, requiring neither wires nor batteries 🤩

The system itself consists of two modules - a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter generates a radio frequency signal, amplifies it, filters it and emits it in a given direction. The receiver catches the wave, converts it into current and supplies power to the connected device every few seconds. All without batteries or replacing batteries ( something like this just fits into the concept of Ambient IoT, which I already talked about wrote ) 🤯

The output of the receiver is several milliwatts, which is enough to power, for example, motion sensors, temperature, humidity and other smart home classics. Moreover, the working area is almost a meter by one and a half. And if you install another transmitter, the zone simply expands. You want it along the wall, you want it all over the room. Everything is scalable 🫡

Engineers also spoke about safety ( not IS, but biological ): transmitter power - up to 1.5 W, which complies with SanPiN and IEEE international standards. So no microwave exposure in the hallway. You can remove the shielding suit 😉

I really liked the way they approached the task. They weren't trying to copy Qi, the same wireless charging standard that a phone needs when it's lying flat. This is a completely different approach. Plus, they think not only about apartments, but also about industry. For example, in a warehouse with a bunch of temperature/humidity sensors, where running wires is pointless and changing batteries is impossible

I consider it my duty to mention everyone who was behind this project. ITMO Physics Department team: Andrey Kuzmichev, Polina Terentyeva, Alexander Zolotarev, Pavel Smirnov, Sutanu Chatterjee, Evgeniy Koreshin and Polina Kapitanova. These are the people who couldn’t afford to change batteries - and who solved this problem with science ( my favorite new approach ) 💯

This is a really impressive story. Not only because this is the first technology of this kind in Russia, but also because it is simply a step into the future

I really hope that they don't stop with the demo and bring it to the winning final product. Strength and perseverance for the whole team 👍

#internet_things