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Sure, the basic version of this exists now and is being sold for less than a dollar. As chips get even more efficient, these sorts of devices will be able to br

Sure, the basic version of this exists now and is being sold for less than a dollar. As chips get even more efficient, these sorts of devices will be able to break into new use cases. https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2021/12/28/battery-free-iot-these-tiny-printable-computers-harvest-energy-from-radio-waves/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2021/12/28/battery...

tdeck 5y ago
Things like that work for communication at very short ranges (Bluetooth has a pretty limited range). If you want something to draw power from a distant transmitter and to have any ability at all to do I/O (including RF output), you need a much bigger antenna to capture more energy. You'd essentially need something like this loop antenna crystal radio: http://makearadio.com/crystal/19.php http://makearadio.com/crystal/19.php
- dougmwne 5y ago
  These Wiliot chips already draw power from distant LTE towers, can do I/O through GPIO and can communicate back 20 meters through a Bluetooth LE ping. Imagine a new smart thermostat that gathered temperature data from a dozen unpowered temperature sensors throughout your home, adjusted accordingly, then sent you a report on your home's insulation performance. These tags could be used for that today. https://support.wiliot.com/hc/en-us/articles/360059009614-Wiliot-Extended-Overview https://support.wiliot.com/hc/en-us/articles/360059009614-Wi...
omegalulw 5y ago
As the other commenter said, this seems to only be for very short range communication. The article itself compares it primarily to RFID. I'm skeptical that extracting power from ambient RF will scale because there's not that much power _bt design_. Commercial equipment that emits any radiation needs to hit power specs and those regulations are very serious.
- dougmwne 5y ago
  That's a bogus comparison in my opinion. Passive RFID is nothing but a digital QR code that can be read with RF. It has no more than a meter of range. It's not what we would call a computer in any sense of the word. These Wiliot tags fit the definition of a computer. They have a 1mhz arm CPU, 2kb RAM, 64kb ROM, GPIO inputs & outputs and sensors. They can harvest cellular RF energy and put out a Bluetooth LE ping that can be read from 20 meters. The specs are quite similar to my first computer, the Apple 2E. They are based on a 40nm process, so imagine a 4nm version or a 400 angstrom version. We are not going to be using battery-less phones, but these kinds of energy harvesting IOT chips have a lot of interesting future applications. Shoes that give fitness data to your phone? Sunglasses that give you UV alerts? Detergent that gives you a notification when it's low? Egg salad that that texts you when you forget it on the counter? Ketchup that emails you when it's expired? Just some silly examples, but no more silly than half the IOT that's already out there. https://support.wiliot.com/hc/en-us/articles/360059009614-Wiliot-Extended-Overview https://support.wiliot.com/hc/en-us/articles/360059009614-Wi...

tdeck 5y ago

Things like that work for communication at very short ranges (Bluetooth has a pretty limited range). If you want something to draw power from a distant transmitter and to have any ability at all to do I/O (including RF output), you need a much bigger antenna to capture more energy. You'd essentially need something like this loop antenna crystal radio: http://makearadio.com/crystal/19.php http://makearadio.com/crystal/19.php

dougmwne 5y ago
These Wiliot chips already draw power from distant LTE towers, can do I/O through GPIO and can communicate back 20 meters through a Bluetooth LE ping. Imagine a new smart thermostat that gathered temperature data from a dozen unpowered temperature sensors throughout your home, adjusted accordingly, then sent you a report on your home's insulation performance. These tags could be used for that today. https://support.wiliot.com/hc/en-us/articles/360059009614-Wiliot-Extended-Overview https://support.wiliot.com/hc/en-us/articles/360059009614-Wi...

omegalulw 5y ago

As the other commenter said, this seems to only be for very short range communication. The article itself compares it primarily to RFID. I'm skeptical that extracting power from ambient RF will scale because there's not that much power _bt design_. Commercial equipment that emits any radiation needs to hit power specs and those regulations are very serious.

dougmwne 5y ago
That's a bogus comparison in my opinion. Passive RFID is nothing but a digital QR code that can be read with RF. It has no more than a meter of range. It's not what we would call a computer in any sense of the word. These Wiliot tags fit the definition of a computer. They have a 1mhz arm CPU, 2kb RAM, 64kb ROM, GPIO inputs & outputs and sensors. They can harvest cellular RF energy and put out a Bluetooth LE ping that can be read from 20 meters. The specs are quite similar to my first computer, the Apple 2E. They are based on a 40nm process, so imagine a 4nm version or a 400 angstrom version. We are not going to be using battery-less phones, but these kinds of energy harvesting IOT chips have a lot of interesting future applications. Shoes that give fitness data to your phone? Sunglasses that give you UV alerts? Detergent that gives you a notification when it's low? Egg salad that that texts you when you forget it on the counter? Ketchup that emails you when it's expired? Just some silly examples, but no more silly than half the IOT that's already out there. https://support.wiliot.com/hc/en-us/articles/360059009614-Wiliot-Extended-Overview https://support.wiliot.com/hc/en-us/articles/360059009614-Wi...