CAREER: IDEA: Integrated Data and Energy Access for Wireless Sensor Networks

拟议的综合数据和能源接入(IDEA)框架将有助于实现在电磁射频(RF)波的帮助下，共同为无线传感器供电和通信的承诺。这项研究将产生跨层协议套件、建模工具和实验系统，这些将有助于构建未来的射频能量收集网络，用于医疗保健、可穿戴电子产品、智能家居和具有更长使用寿命的嵌入式植入物。射频能量的可控性和可预测性，以及对环境条件的不依赖，将这种形式的能量收集与其他可再生能源区分开来。IDEA将通过减少对电池的依赖和增强联网的可持续性，直接支持国家和机构层面的能效相关计划目标。该项目涉及一项综合教育计划，包括在公共博物馆进行示范，为K-12学生提供教学工具，举办一所侧重于射频能量采集的暑期学校，为行业人员提供继续教育，并开展专门的外联工作，以吸引代表性不足群体的学生。IDEA将定义新的协议设计，以协调专用全向和波束成形能量发射器(ETS)的行动。在链路层，它将研究在网络中共享充电和数据通信功能的信道的方法，同时解决相位变化以及空间能量信号的建设性和破坏性干扰带来的挑战。IDEA提出了创建能量路径的新的路由度量和协议，它将只对选定的传感器收费，以确保数据通过这些路径及时发送到接收器。它将对ETS的数量、它们的布置、网络寿命和给定网络内能量转移请求的数据通信能力之间的关系产生具体的见解。IDEA将回答有关通过室内ETS以及室外电视频段的环境射频环境可以获得多少能量的基本问题，从而创建时空能量图。最后，IDEA将通过软件定义的无线电ETS试验台和射频采集板的电路设计，将射频采集传感器的概念转变为网络部署的平台。

The proposed Integrated Data and Energy Access (IDEA) framework will help realize the promise of jointly powering and communicating with wireless sensors, with the help of electromagnetic radio frequency (RF) waves. This research will result in a cross-layer protocol suite, modeling tools, and experimental systems that will be instrumental in building future RF energy harvesting networks for healthcare, wearable electronics, smart homes, and embedded implants with extended lifetimes. The controllable and predictable nature of RF energy and the lack of dependence on environmental conditions distinguish this form of energy harvesting over other renewable sources. IDEA will directly support national and institutional level energy-efficiency related program goals by reducing dependence on batteries and enhancing sustainability in networking. The project involves an integrated education plan involving demonstrations at public museums, pedagogical tools for K-12 students, a summer school focused on RF energy harvesting, continuing education for industry personnel, and dedicated outreach efforts to attract students from underrepresented groups. IDEA will define new protocol designs for coordinating actions of dedicated omnidirectional and beamforming energy transmitters (ETs). At the link layer, it will research methods for sharing the channel for the charging and data communication functions in the network, while addressing challenges posed by phase variance and the constructive and destructive interference of energy signals in space. IDEA proposes new routing metrics and protocols for creating energy paths, which will charge only selected sensors to ensure data delivery to the sink occurs timely over these pathways. It will yield concrete insights on the relationship between the number of ETs, their placement, the network lifetime, and the data communication capacity given the energy transfer requests within the network. IDEA will answer fundamental questions on how much energy can be obtained through indoor ETs, as well as outdoors from the ambient RF environment in the TV band, leading to the creation of spatiotemporal energy maps. Finally, IDEA will transform the concept of RF harvesting sensors to a platform for network deployment through a testbed of software-defined radio ETs and circuit designs for RF harvesting boards.