CRI:CI:SUSTAIN: Next-Generation, Sustainable Infrastructure for the RF-Powered Computing Community

几十年来，微电子的能源效率一直在呈指数级提高。以永久的、无电池的方式操作低功率感测、计算和通信平台正变得可能，所有功率都由射频（RF）信号或其他能量收集提供。 无线识别和传感平台（WISP）是一个开源的无电池平台，目前的研究人员最初在2006年推出。 数以百计的WISP已经被制造出来并分发给世界各地的研究人员。 这种基础设施使计算机科学的各个领域的研究成为可能，包括网络、人机交互、普适计算、机器人技术和其他领域。 目前的建议将使研究人员能够将最新的研究成果，如环境反向散射通信，整合到WISP系列中，并从低功耗微电子技术的最新改进中获益。 该提案将使我们能够生产新一代的基础设施，并通过销售硬件或其他方式使其成熟到能够自我维持的程度。我们预计，持续的基础设施将支持后向散射通信、低功耗系统和网络以及超低功耗平台应用方面的研究。 无电池传感系统有望实现一系列新功能，并将在各种市场产生巨大的商业影响。计算与物理世界的联系越来越紧密，这一转变可以实现智能环境、更好的医疗保健、更高效的制造等。然而，需要为物理嵌入式微电子系统供电是一个关键挑战。该项目将使我们能够维持WISP基础设施，以实现无电池、射频供电的计算和通信。 基础设施将使研究在几个领域。近年来，PI和co-PI推出了Ambient Backscatter Communication和基于后向散射的WISP相机，在研究界得到了广泛的认可。使这些工具广泛使用将使研究的主题，如（环境）后向散射网络，无电池相机的应用，以及算法的交互式压缩和计算机视觉在无电池相机系统。许多计算机和信息科学与工程研究人员可能在很长一段时间内无法获得这项研究，因为没有广泛访问的平台支持这些主题的研究。持续的基础设施也将使新的应用研究，如改进的人类活动检测系统，无电池输入设备，以及对人体植入电子产品的研究，和长期的结构健康监测。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准的支持。

The energy efficiency of microelectronics has been improving exponentially for decades. It is becoming possible to operate low power sensing, computing and communication platforms in a perpetual, battery-free fashion, with all power provided by Radio Frequency (RF) signals or other energy harvesting. The Wireless Identification and Sensing Platform (WISP) is an open source battery-free platform that the present investigators originally introduced in 2006. Hundreds of WISPs have been manufactured and distributed to researchers around the world. This infrastructure has enabled research in diverse areas of computer science, including networking, Human-Computer Interaction, Ubiquitous Computing, Robotics, and other areas. The present proposal will allow the researchers to integrate the latest research results, such as Ambient Backscatter Communication, into the WISP family, and also to reap the benefits of the most recent improvements in low power microelectronics. The proposal will allow us to produce a new generation of the infrastructure and mature it to the point that it becomes self sustaining, via sales of hardware or other means. We expect that the sustained infrastructure will support research in backscatter communication, low power systems and networking, and applications of ultra-low-power platforms. Battery-free sensing systems are expected to enable a wide array of new capabilities, which will generate substantial commercial impact in a wide variety of markets.Computing is becoming connected more and more deeply to the physical world, a transformation that can enable smart environments, better medical care, more efficient manufacturing, and more. However, the need to power physically embedded microelectronic systems is a key challenge. This project will allow us to sustain the WISP infrastructure for battery-free, RF-powered computing and communication. The infrastructure will enable research in several areas. In recent years, the PI and co-PI introduced Ambient Backscatter Communication, and backscatter-based WISP cameras, which have been widely recognized in the research community. Making these tools widely available will enable research on topics such as (ambient) backscatter networking, applications of battery-free cameras, and algorithms for interactive compression and computer vision in battery-free camera systems. This research would likely remain inaccessible for a long time to many computer and information science and engineering researchers, since there are no widely accessible platforms that support research on these topics. The sustained infrastructure will also enable novel application research, in areas such as improved human activity detection systems, battery-free input devices, and also research on body-implanted electronics, and long term structural health monitoring.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.