Battery-Free Smart Objects Based on RFID Backscattering

The Internet of Things era has witnessed an explosion of smart objects. As we move toward connecting the next billion wireless devices to the Internet, however, the use of batteries to power them will become unworkable, with significant repercussions on health and the environment if improperly disposed. Hence, the need for more eco-friendly technologies. This article shows how radio-frequency identification technology enables the re-design of personal wireless computing devices in a battery-less manner, representing a major leap forward in moving beyond chargers, cords, and dying devices. Specifically, we study the development of various battery-free devices, and identify the types of devices that can be handled today and what is future work. We describe testbed experiments that clearly demonstrate the feasibility of the devices we built, presenting performance comparable to commercial battery-powered counterparts.