Zero Power Energy-Aware Communication for Transiently-Powered Sensing Systems

Abstract

Battery-less wireless sensors powered directly by miniaturized energy harvesters can be appealing only if communication between nodes is realized without wasting energy. In devices that implement intermittent computing, efficient communications remain an open challenge. Transmitters should be aware of unavailable receivers to prevent packet losses due to power failures. Backscatter transmissions can be used to propagate the energy state almost for free in the surrounding. This paper presents a backscatter radio mechanism and a protocol that regulates the communication between nodes, guaranteeing packet transmissions only if sufficient energy is stored in the transmitter and the receiver. Simulation results demonstrate our approach's effectiveness and show the performance of this new type of intermittent communication.