SBIR Phase II: Passive Radio for the Internet of Things

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to develop low-power, low-cost and smallform factor wireless connectivity solutions, facilitating the deployment of inexpensive and long-livedwireless sensors and devices for a diverse set of applications. For instance, it is infeasible to placeconventional sensors or wireless connectivity on low-cost or disposable items due to the high cost andshort battery life of wireless communication devices. With the successful completion of this project,items ranging from consumer packaged goods to medical consumables and pill bottles could beconnected to the Internet. Brands and manufacturers could gain previously inaccessible market andproduct insights based on the way products are used, while consumers could enjoy benefits rangingfrom new services and features (such as automated product reordering) to better-designed productswhich more closely fit their needs. By enabling new use cases for wireless connectivity, this technologycan prompt innovation across many industries.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project introduces a new long-rangebackscatter-based communication technology based on Chirp Spread Spectrum, a wireless protocolwhich can be detected at extremely low signal levels. The low-power wireless system prior to thisproject is comprised of three elements: A passive backscatter-based radio, a first gateway device whichprovides an illumination signal, and a second gateway device which receives the resultingbackscattered data and forwards data to the Internet. In this project, the passive backscatter-basedradio will be implemented in an integrated circuit form, realizing the low power and low cost possiblewith this technology. The two gateway devices will be combined into one full-duplex radio device, toaddress the needs of the majority of deployment scenarios. Techniques to localize the backscatterradios within the field of the gateway device will be explored. Finally, security challenges will beaddressed and the system will undergo extensive evaluation and testing.