Though inventor Nikola Tesla dreamed of wirelessly harnessing “free energy” from the Earth and its atmosphere in the early 1900s, the reality of our experiences with electric devices has always involved batteries or cords. This, in turn, has limited how flexibly, expansively and reliably we’ve been able to integrate devices into our lives, as anybody with a spent battery or too-short extension cord will attest.
Together with researchers and engineers from universities, research organizations and other companies, NXP is participating in a multi-year project called REINDEER, which is intended to develop smart connectivity technologies for resilient interactive experiences, with perceived zero latency and uninterrupted availability as the result of downtime no longer being required to recharge or to accommodate location limitations from being tethered to a cord.
The goal is to eliminate the use of plugs or batteries for all connected devices, whether in our pockets, smart homes, factories or streets.
Such solutions will rely on highly efficient energy and connectivity availability matched with extremely low energy used for localized processing (at the edge). It will unleash new opportunities for smart devices in smart homes, businesses and transportation that aren’t dependent on batteries or tethered to cords.
Ulrich Mühlmann, senior principal engineer and group leader at NXP Semiconductors, is leading NXPs' role in this innovative research project. “The technologies developed in the REINDEER project will set the next milestone for future industry, health and smart homes connectivity technologies. To make them more secure, highly energy-efficient and to enable new user experience.”
At its core is radio frequency radiation, or RF, which is commonly used to connect mobile phones and satellite communications systems and has traditionally been used for broadcast TV and radio transmissions. Since the mid-2010s, technologies have emerged that can convert RF to usable current for powering devices, also known as “harvesting.”
But there have been multiple challenges to putting this innovation to work, most notably that receiving antennas had to be long and closely oriented toward the power source, and then realigned if either the device or source moved.
NXP is analyzing enhanced energy harvesting capabilities at the low end of the spectrum (RF energy has lower energy than visible light) and exploring ways for devices to operate with zero stored energy. Imagine electricity as something devices “tune into” like they do to digital content, at least conceptually. Key to this innovation is overcoming the alignment challenge and enabling multi-frequency/multi-band harvesting in commonly used off-the-shelf zero energy devices (such as UCODE, RAIN or RFID), so more devices can be easily added to systems. The traditional challenge of antenna size needs to be overcome.
Further, NXP is applying its established expertise in low-energy use and energy management so as to make the connected devices work as efficiently as possible and thereby minimize the energy demands on the system. We’re also looking at using spatial signatures for authentication of devices, so the system would literally “see” where and what they might be.
If successful, the implications could be significant for enabling efficient real-time interactivity with zero latency and uninterrupted availability. Imagine robust smart systems that connect wirelessly and are always ready to not just respond “on demand” but proactively work with you to anticipate and automate your needs. Ensuring reliable and available power could be a significant enabler of new user experiences and benefits.
We like to believe Nikola Tesla would have been proud.
This work was funded by the REINDEER project of the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No.101013425.
To learn more about radio frequency, please visit here.
Marcus Borrmann, a Public Funding Cooperative Projects Expert, plays an integral role managing NXP’s Public Cooperative Projects. Prior to joining NXP, he was a project leader and researcher in the field of Public Health and Health Studies with a special focus on assistive technologies. He holds a Masters Degree in Public Health from Medical University Vienna.
