RF-Powered Wireless Sensors

Powercast, with the support of Infinite Power Solutions, has released the Lifetime Power® Energy Harvesting Development Kit for Battery Charging. This kit provides long-range, wireless trickle charging of battery-based systems for low-power applications. The kit features the THINERGY® Micro-Energy Cell from Infinite Power Solutions (IPS), and also supports traditional rechargeable batteries including Lithium Ion, Alkaline, and Ni-MH, as well as other solid-state/thin-film batteries.

Components of the kit include:

• 915MHz, 3 watt Power+Data Transmitter (TX91501-3W-ID)
• P2110 Evaluation Boards (P2110-EVB)
• 6dBi directional antenna
• 1dBi omni-directional antenna
• Battery charging board (BAT-EVAL-01)
• THINERGY® Micro-Energy Cell Evaluation Card
• Cable for connecting to THINERGY® ADP
• TI eZ430-RF2500 wireless development tool

The components in the kit enable wireless battery charging at a distance of 40-45 feet (13-15 meters). The charging board can directly charge a THINERGY Micro-Energy Cell or connect to the THINERGY ADP. This can be used for a number of applications including building automation, energy management and industrial monitoring. Power is provided by Powercast’s new 3W transmitter (TX91501-3W-ID), which also sends factory-set data. The P2110 Powerharvester receiver converts the RF energy from the receiving antenna and stores it into a capacitor, which is then boosted as a regulated output to pulse-charge a battery.

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Powercast will be demonstrating RF energy harvesting at the IDTechEx Energy Harvesting & Storage Conference in Denver (USA) on Nov 3-4, 2009.   On display will be Powercast’s RF energy harvesting technology integrated with wireless sensors from Texas Instruments, Jennic, and EnOcean.

All of the demonstration modules are battery-free and are powered by RF energy that is converted to DC by Powercast’s P2100 Powerharvester module and stored in a supercapacitor.  Harry Ostaffe of Powercast will also be giving a presentation on Practical Applications of RF Energy Harvesting.

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At the Darnell nanoPower Forum on May 18th, Powercast and CAP-XX presented a battery-free wireless power module for wireless sensors.  The module uses the Powercast P2100 Powerharvester receiver, a CAP-XX GZ 115 supercapacitor, and the Texas Instruments eZ430-RF2500 wireless board.  The modules work by receiving radio waves and converting them into DC, which is then stored in the supercap.  When a charge threshold is reached on the supercap, the output to the wireless sensor is turned on which activates the sensor.  The sensor can have zero stand-by power instead of using a sleep mode, and power can be sent on demand, o na scheduled basis, or continuously.

The joint press release by Powercast and CAP-XX contains additional details.

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Pittsburgh, PA – April 30, 2009 – Powercast, a leader in the commercialization of RF energy harvesting and wireless power solutions, announced it has joined the Texas Instruments Developer Network to support wireless powering of devices driven by TI’s MSP430.  The MSP430 is a market leading, low power microcontroller embedded in numerous portable and low-power wireless devices.

Powercast’s RF energy harvesting technology and embedded wireless power solutions enable controllable wireless power, over distance, between one or more sources and multiple receivers.  Devices with Powercast components can be designed for battery-free or battery-minimized operation, thereby eliminating disposable batteries and their adverse environmental impact.  These devices can be dormant, with zero stand-by power, and activated remotely with power being sent on-demand, on a scheduled basis, or continuously.

“We are pleased to have Powercast join TI’s Developer Network,” said Eric Siegel, MCU developer network manager at Texas Instruments.  “Combining wireless power technology with the ultra-low power consumption of the MSP430, Powercast’s innovative solutions eliminate the need to replace batteries by providing constant, unattended charge for applications in the low-power RF market.”

Powercast has also developed an integrated module for demonstrating battery-free wireless sensors.  The Powercast module contains an integrated power receiving antenna, a Powerharvester™ module, energy storage, and space for a low-power wireless module like Texas Instruments eZ430-RF2500T.

“The wireless sensor market is rapidly expanding and today’s wireless sensors are predominantly powered by disposable batteries.  Battery replacement creates a significant operational challenge that will greatly impact the willingness of end-users to scale sensor networks or deploy wireless sensors in hard to service locations.” said Harry Ostaffe, Director of Marketing for Powercast.  “Powercast’s wireless power solutions enable battery-free designs for wireless sensor devices, and allow for lifetime operation without changing batteries.”

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An interesting project we’ve been working on is to power the Texas Instruments eZ430-RF2500 wireless sensor demo system.  The components are easy to set-up and use, and the RF2500T target board has very low power consumption.  The RF2500T modules use TI’s MSP430 microcontroller, a Chipcon radio, and the SimpliciTI protocol.

We powered the RF2500T Target Board without batteries using a 900MHz transmitter and lab boards with a Powerharvester(TM) module.  The capacitor on the receiving board (shown above left) was first charged to 3V and then the sensor was activated.  The sensor would then run continuously as wireless power was available, and then until the capacitor voltage dropped below the operating threshold.

Later, we used one of the “charge and fire” lab boards from the Lifetime Power(TM) Evaluation and Development Kit (shown above right) to automate the operation.  The P2100 Powerharvester module on the lab board is designed to convert RF energy and store it in a capacitor.  When a voltage threshold is reached on the capacitor, the P2100 switches on its’ output to the sensor at 3.3 volts.  When a lower voltage threshold is reach on the capacitor the output to the sensor is switched off.  The power output to the wireless sensor can be continuous if the received power is greater than the power consumption of the sensor, or the sensor can be operated intermittently when enough energy is accumulated in the capacitor.

The ability for a sensor to support intermittent operation, with variable inactive periods or long sleep periods, and with minimal start-up sequencing and communications handshaking, will provide the farthest range with RF energy harvesting.

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