In the rapidly evolving world of the Internet of Things (IoT), one persistent challenge stands out: the limited battery life of sensors. These tiny devices, which form the backbone of smart cities, industrial automation, and countless other applications, often require frequent battery replacements or recharging, leading to increased maintenance costs and potential downtime. However, a groundbreaking study published in the journal *Discover Applied Sciences* offers a promising solution to this problem, with significant implications for the energy sector.
The research, led by Eman Sadik from the Department of Electronics and Electrical Communications Engineering at Menoufia University, explores the potential of alternating current (AC) computing-enabled Simultaneous Wireless Information and Power Transfer (SWIPT) technology. This innovative approach aims to enhance energy harvesting in IoT devices, ultimately enabling battery-less communication.
“Our goal was to maximize the data rate while ensuring that the IoT devices harvest sufficient power for both operation and battery charging,” Sadik explained. The study considers a realistic structure of an IoT network with multiple access points serving several IoT devices. By jointly designing beamforming vectors and power splitting factors, the researchers formulated a sum-rate maximization problem, subject to constraints on total harvested energy and transmit power budget.
The problem, however, was inherently non-convex, meaning it couldn’t be solved using traditional optimization methods. To tackle this challenge, the team employed advanced techniques such as semidefinite relaxation (SDR), successive convex approximation (SCA), and an algorithm called Sequential Rank-One Constraint Relaxation (SROCR). These methods allowed the researchers to find optimal solutions that significantly improve energy efficiency compared to conventional schemes.
The simulation results demonstrated the superior performance of the proposed AC-computing-enabled SWIPT scheme. This breakthrough could revolutionize the IoT landscape, reducing the need for battery replacements and lowering maintenance costs. For the energy sector, this means a more sustainable and efficient way to power IoT devices, which are becoming increasingly ubiquitous in smart grids, renewable energy systems, and energy management applications.
The research not only addresses a critical challenge in IoT networks but also paves the way for future developments in energy harvesting and wireless communication technologies. As Eman Sadik noted, “This work opens up new avenues for research in AC computing and SWIPT, with the potential to transform the way we power and communicate with IoT devices.”
With the growing demand for IoT devices and the increasing focus on energy efficiency, this study offers a timely and impactful contribution to the field. As the world moves towards a more connected and sustainable future, the insights gained from this research could play a pivotal role in shaping the energy landscape of tomorrow.