Power over Wi-Fi !

We present the first power over Wi-Fi system that delivers power and works with existing Wi-Fi chipsets. Specifically, we show that a ubiquitous piece of wireless communication infrastructure, the Wi-Fi router, can provide far field wireless power without compromising the network's communication performance. Building on our design we prototype, for the first time, battery-free temperature and camera sensors that are powered using Wi-Fi chipsets with ranges of 20 and 17 feet respectively. We also demonstrate the ability to wirelessly recharge nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion coin-cell batteries at distances of up to 28 feet. Finally, we deploy our system in six homes in a metropolitan area and show that our design can successfully deliver power via Wi-Fi in real-world network conditions.

by Vamsi Talla, Bryce Kellogg, Benjamin Ransford, Saman Naderiparizi, Shyamnath Gollakota, Joshua R. Smith
Submitted on 26 May 2015 arxiv.org/abs/1505.06815

A UW research project that seeks to power the Internet of Things using Wi-Fi signals – dubbed “power over Wi-Fi” or “PoWiFi” for short – is the topic of a recent paper and an article in MIT Technology Review. The project was developed by a team that includes CSE professor Shyam Gollakota, CSE and EE professor Josh Smith, EE Ph.D. student Vamsi Talla, CSE alum (and current EE Ph.D. student) Bryce Kellogg, former CSE postdoc Ben Ransford, and EE Ph.D. student Saman Naderiparizi.
The project, affectionately dubbed “PoWiFi,” harnessed energy from Wi-Fi signals to wirelessly power battery-free devices – in this case, temperature and camera sensors – and to wirelessly recharge batteries.
The PDF of the team’s paper, “Powering the Next Billion Devices The WiFi,”: http://arxiv.org/pdf/1505.06815v1.pdf
Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington UW CSE News 4/6/2015