RF Energy Harvesting Communications

无线通信和能源网络在过去几年中已经实现了大量的新应用。两者都使用相同且独特的RF介质，但迄今为止彼此独立设计。这个有远见的项目在PI Bruno Clerckx博士的监督下在帝国理工学院进行，旨在通过设计和证明一种破坏性的无线网络技术的可行性来挑战当前的设计，该技术在无线网络中与信息一起无线传输能量（简称为JWIET，即联合无线信息和能量传输）。该项目将把未来容量和节能的无线通信和能源网络视为在统一框架下设计的单个网络，并通过能量传输克服无线设备的能量限制，从而为未来的容量和节能无线通信和能源网络带来新的范式转变。与当前的无线通信网络相反，干扰被视为要被收集而不是减轻的能量源。然而，由于无线网络中的干扰动态地影响信息速率和要收获的能量的量，因此找到基本的性能限制和有效的干扰管理技术是具有挑战性的，并且迄今为止尚未探索。在过去的两年里，Clerckx博士在理想能量收集器的假设下，在两个用户和K个用户的窄带MIMO干扰信道和广播信道中成功解决了这个问题，无论输入波形如何，RF到DC能量转换效率都是100%。该项目旨在扩展和利用过去的成果来解决JWIET在1）宽带信道中的问题，以及2）在存在考虑实际RF电路的实际RF能量采集器以及RF能量采集器的RF到DC能量转换效率取决于输入波形的事实的情况下。为了以可靠的方式将这种新颖的无线网络解决方案组合在一起，该项目的重点是1）确定理论费率-能源贸易-考虑实际RF能量收集器模型的一般宽带MIMO干扰和广播信道的代价，2）研究相关的传输策略，3）通过实验验证JWIET的可行性，该项目及其实验将与美国国家仪器公司和沃达丰公司合作进行。该项目需要跨学科的研究，它将在一个独特的研究小组进行，该研究小组在无线通信，信号处理，数值分析和JWIET方面具有良好的记录。鉴于上述情况以及本课题的新奇和独创性，研究成果将对设计由无线能量传输提供的未来无线网络具有相当大的价值，并为业界提供对实用JWIET系统发展的新的和及时的见解，推进英国在全球RF能量传输和通信方面的研究概况。它的成功将改变发达市场和新兴市场的广泛ICT/工程格局，其应用领域包括楼宇自动化、医疗保健、电信、智能电网、结构监测、消费电子等。

Wireless communication and energy networks have enabled a plethora of novel applications in the last years. Both make use of the same and unique RF medium, but have been so far designed independently from each other. This visionary project conducted at Imperial College under the supervision of the PI Dr. Bruno Clerckx aims at challenging the current design by designing and proving the feasibility of a disruptive wireless network technology that wirelessly transfers energy jointly with information in wireless networks (shortly denoted as JWIET for Joint Wireless Information and Energy Transfer). The project will create a new paradigm shift in future capacity and energy efficient wireless communication and energy networks, by viewing them as a single network designed under a unified framework and by overcoming the energy constraint of wireless devices through the transfer of energy. Contrary to current wireless communication networks, interference is viewed as a source of energy that is to be harvested rather than mitigated. However, because interference in a wireless network influences dynamically the information rate and the amount of energy to harvest, finding the fundamental performance limits and effective interference management techniques is challenging and unexplored so far. In the last two years, Dr. Clerckx has successfully addressed this problem in a two-user and K-user narrowband MIMO interference channel and broadcast channels, under the assumption of an ideal energy harvester for which the RF-to-DC energy conversion efficiency is 100% irrespectively of the input waveforms.This project aims at extending and leveraging past achievements to solve the problem of JWIET in 1) wideband channels, and 2) in the presence of realistic RF energy harvesters accounting for actual RF circuitry and the fact that the RF-to-DC energy conversion efficiency of RF energy harvesters depends on the input waveforms.To put together this novel wireless network solution in a credible fashion, this project focuses on 1) identify theoretic rate-energy trade-offs for general wideband MIMO interference and broadcast channels accounting for realistic RF energy harvester models, 2) investigate the associated transmission strategies, 3) validate the feasibility of JWIET through experiment.The project and its experiment will be performed in partnership with National Instruments and Vodafone. The project demands an interdisciplinary study and it is to be conducted in a unique research group with strong track records in wireless communication, signal processing, numerical analysis, and JWIET. With the above and given the novelty and originality of the topic, the research outcomes will be of considerable value to design future wireless networks supplied by wireless energy transfer and give the industry a fresh and timely insight into the development of practical JWIET system, advancing UK's research profile of both RF energy transfer and communication in the world. Its success would change the broad ICT/Engineering landscape in developed but also emerging markets with applications in a large number of sectors, e.g. building automation, healthcare, telecommunications, smart grid, structural monitoring, consumer electronics, etc.