Problems of Powering End Devices in Wireless Networks of the Internet of Things

• Main Authors: Andrzej Michalski, Zbigniew Watral
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: Internet of Things; Energy Harvesting; wireless sensor network
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/9/2417

This article presents the problems of powering wireless sensor networks operating in the structures of the Internet of Things (IoT). This issue was discussed on the example of a universal end node in IoT technology containing RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags. The basic methods of signal transmission in these types of networks are discussed and their impact on the basic requirements such as range, transmission speed, low energy consumption, and the maximum number of devices that can simultaneously operate in the network. The issue of low power consumption of devices used in IoT solutions is one of the main research objects. The analysis of possible communication protocols has shown that there is a possibility of effective optimization in this area. The wide range of power sources available on the market, used in nodes of wireless sensor networks, was compared. The alternative possibilities of powering the network nodes from Energy Harvesting (EH) generators are presented.