Typically, devices require electronic components to send, interpret and receive signals via Wi-Fi. Given this, wirelessly connecting 3D-printed devices without the addition of electronic components had never been achieved.
“Our goal was to create something that just comes out of your 3D printer at home and can send useful information to other devices,” said Vikram Iyer, a graduate student at the University of Washington.
“But the big challenge is how do you communicate wirelessly with Wi-Fi using only plastic? That’s something that no one has been able to do before.”
In order to allow their printed devices to exchange information, the University of Washington engineers harnessed backscatter techniques, which use antennas to reflect radio waves or other signals emitted from a device such as a Wi-Fi router. These techniques are often employed in extremely low-power devices, such as battery-free watches.
The researchers were able to contain a makeshift...