Researchers build battery-less, ant-sized radio
Source: Joel Locsin
A radio as small as an ant may soon power the tiny devices that can wirelessly go online as part of the Internet of Things. AMIN ARBABIAN / STANFORD UNIVERSITY via PC World
A radio as small as an ant may soon power the tiny devices that can wirelessly go online as part of the Internet of Things - everyday items that send and receive data via the Internet.
Built by researchers at Stanford University, the small radio measures just a few millimeters, comfortably fitting on a US penny, PC World reported.
"Data from the devices is expected to help realize smarter and more energy-efficient homes, although quite how it will all work is yet to be figured out. Radios like the one from Stanford should help greatly expand the number of devices that can collect and share data," it said.
The radio will not need a battery since it has very low power needs, such that it can get the energy it needs from nearby radio fields, just like RFID tags and smart cards.
But unlike RFID tags and smart cards, the new radio has greater processing power, PC World quoted a university representative as saying.
"That means it could query a sensor for its data, for instance, and transmit it when required," it said.
Also, the radio uses the 24GHz and 60GHz bands, enough for communications over a few tens of centimeters.
| }
|