Clemson University researchers are using backscatter technology to create wireless sensor nodes that don't require on board power supplies.
October 18, 2017
minute read time
Lead Performer: Clemson University — Clemson, SC
Partners:
-- Harvard University — Cambridge, MA
-- Phase IV Engineering Corp. — Boulder, CO
DOE Total Funding: $1,399,998
Cost Share: $181,380
Project Term: 2016-2019
Funding Type: Building Energy Efficiency Frontiers and Innovations Technologies (BENEFIT) – 2016 (DE-FOA-0001383)
Project Objective
This project is investigating a pathway to all-digital plug-and-play sensors using passive radio-frequency identification (RFID) that will monitor temperature and humidity for building applications. While wireless sensor nodes partially address the necessary cost targets to enable widespread adoption and energy savings in buildings, innovations in sensor device physics and computational algorithms are also necessary to increase the operational lifetime, reduce power consumption constraints, and streamline calibration and configuration of the overall system. This project will explore pathways to operate entirely on backscatter technology to eliminate both the on-board signal processing and power supply, two of the four elements that typically comprise a wireless sensor node.
Contacts
DOE Technology Manager: Erika Gupta
Lead Performer: Hai Xiao, Clemson University