Wireless Sensor Network Utilizing Radio-Frequency Energy Harvesting for Smart Building Applications [Education Corner]

The scope of this article is to develop a modular radio-frequency (RF) energy-harvesting system for smart buildings that can act as a power source for sensing devices. Electromagnetic field-strength measurements at the main campus of the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, were carried out to define the strength of the available ambient signals. Mainly two spectra were available for possible RF harvesting, i.e., two cellular bands [GSM1800 and third generation (3G)] and the 2.45-GHz Wi-Fi band. Based on these measurements, a modular approach for the system was adopted. The system is composed from two modules: 1) a Wi-Fi rectenna system composed of eight dual-polarized patch antennas and 16 rectifiers to produce eight differential voltage sources connected in series and 2) a cellular rectenna system composed of eight linear tapered slot antennas and eight rectifiers to produce four differential voltage sources connected in series. We propose an innovative multiple-input, single-output (MISO) wave rectifier that yields an efficient differential output. Both rectenna modules offer full azimuthal coverage and can operate either together or independently.