The new communication technique, which the researchers call “ambient backscatter,” takes advantage of the background TV and cellular transmissions that surrounding us everyday.
University of Washington (UW) engineers built small, battery-free devices with antennas that can detect and harness a signal, as both a power source and a communication medium, before reflecting it to be picked up by other similar devices to exchange information.
The technology could enable a network of devices and sensors to communicate with no power source or human attention needed.
“We can repurpose wireless signals that are already around us into both a source of power and a communication medium,” said lead researcher Shyam Gollakota, a UW assistant professor of computer science and engineering.
“It’s hopefully going to have applications in a number of areas including wearable computing, smart homes and self-sustaining sensor...