SBIR Phase II: Passive Radio for the Internet of Things

该项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发低功耗、低成本和小尺寸的无线连接解决方案，促进低成本和长寿命的无线传感器和设备的部署，适用于各种应用。例如，由于无线通信设备的高成本和短电池寿命，将传统的传感器或无线连接放置在低成本或一次性物品上是不可行的。随着这个项目的成功完成，从包装消费品到医疗耗材和药瓶等物品都可以连接到互联网上。品牌和制造商可以根据产品的使用方式获得以前无法获得的市场和产品洞察力，而消费者可以享受从新的服务和功能（如自动产品重新排序）到更符合他们需求的更好设计的产品等各种好处。通过支持无线连接的新用例，该技术可以促进许多行业的创新。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目引入了一种基于Chirp扩频的新型远程反向散射通信技术，这是一种可以在极低信号水平下检测到的无线协议。该项目之前的低功耗无线系统由三个元素组成：基于无源反向散射的无线电，提供照明信号的第一网关设备，以及接收由此产生的反向散射数据并将数据转发到互联网的第二网关设备。在本项目中，基于无源反向散射的无线电将以集成电路形式实现，实现该技术的低功耗和低成本。这两个网关设备将合并成一个全双工无线电设备，以满足大多数部署场景的需求。将探讨在网关设备的场内定位后向散射无线电的技术。最后，将解决安全挑战，并对该系统进行广泛的评估和测试。

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.