Wireless Power Transfer in Wirelessly Powered Sensor Networks: A Review of Recent Progress

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
• Wireless Communication Systems
• Internet of Things (IoT) Technology

Background:

• The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, including sensors and wearables, is rapidly expanding.
• Limited battery life of sensor nodes presents a significant challenge for widespread IoT adoption and maintenance.
• Traditional battery replacement in sensor networks is resource-intensive and impractical for large-scale deployments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct an in-depth survey of wireless power transfer (WPT) techniques for sensor devices.
• To address the critical issue of limited battery life in sensor nodes within wirelessly powered sensor networks (WPSNs).
• To explore solutions for improving the operational lifetime and reducing maintenance overhead of IoT sensor nodes.

Main Methods:

• Overview of wirelessly powered sensor networks (WPSNs) architecture and principles.
• Demonstration and discussion of three distinct wireless power transfer (WPT) models and their associated enabling technologies.
• Comprehensive review of existing WPT techniques, evaluating critical design parameters and performance factors.

Main Results:

• Identification and analysis of various WPT techniques applicable to sensor energy harvesting.
• Discussion of key performance-enhancing strategies for WPT within WPSN contexts.
• Evaluation of current WPT methods based on essential design and performance metrics.

Conclusions:

• WPSNs are a promising solution to overcome the battery limitations of IoT sensor nodes.
• Further research into WPT techniques is crucial for advancing the efficiency and reliability of sensor networks.
• The study highlights challenges and future research directions for optimizing WPT in WPSNs.