How a Tiny Device Can Prolong the Battery Life of Miniature Sensors
Introduction:
Researchers from MIT have developed a wake-up receiver that utilizes terahertz waves, making it more than 10 times smaller than similar devices. The receiver, which includes built-in authentication, has the potential to extend the battery life of tiny sensors and robots. Wake-up receivers are essential for small internet-of-things devices with tiny batteries that are difficult to replace. The MIT team’s chip, measuring just over 1 square millimeter, uses terahertz waves that are about one-tenth the length of radio waves. This breakthrough could enable the integration of wake-up receivers in miniaturized sensors and even microrobots that monitor environmental changes in inaccessible areas.
Full Article: How a Tiny Device Can Prolong the Battery Life of Miniature Sensors
Breakthrough in Wake-Up Receiver Technology: MIT Researchers Develop Small, Low-Power Device for IoT
Researchers from MIT and other institutions have made a significant breakthrough in wake-up receiver technology by creating a device that uses terahertz waves. This development has allowed them to produce a chip that is over 10 times smaller than previous devices. The wake-up receiver, which also includes built-in authentication, could be a game changer for tiny sensors and robots that rely on conserving battery life.
Miniaturized Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, such as tiny sensors, have become increasingly popular due to their ability to make objects trackable. However, these devices often have small batteries that are difficult or impossible to replace. To address this issue, engineers incorporate wake-up receivers that keep the devices in low-power “sleep” mode when not in use. This helps preserve battery life.
The wake-up receiver developed by the MIT researchers is significantly smaller than previous devices, measuring less than one-tenth of the size. It consumes only a few microwatts of power. Additionally, the device features a built-in authentication system that protects it from potential battery-draining attacks.
Most wake-up receivers are built on a larger scale, with antennas proportional to the size of radio waves. However, the MIT team designed a receiver that utilizes terahertz waves, which are about one-tenth the length of radio waves. This allowed them to create a chip that is just over 1 square millimeter in size. The use of terahertz waves also enables effective wireless communication over several meters, making it suitable for miniaturized sensors and microrobots that monitor hard-to-reach or hazardous environments.
Terahertz waves have higher frequencies and travel faster than radio waves. They are more secure due to their direct path transmission, often referred to as “pencil beams.” However, terahertz receivers typically consume a lot of power due to the need for frequency mixing modulation. To overcome this challenge, the MIT team developed a zero-power-consumption detector that uses tiny transistors as antennas. This minimal power consumption enables the wake-up receiver to be highly efficient in terms of power usage.
To enhance security, the wake-up receiver incorporates an authentication block that randomizes the device’s token for each activation. This prevents attackers from exploiting a device’s token and draining its battery life through denial-of-sleep attacks. The authentication process utilizes lightweight cryptography, which adds only a few extra nanowatts of power consumption.
The researchers tested the wake-up receiver by increasing the distance between the chip and the terahertz source while sending signals. They achieved longer distance demonstrations compared to other similar devices with small size and low power consumption. For precise signal detection, the researchers combined their device with a terahertz beam-steerable array developed by the Han group.
Moving forward, the MIT researchers aim to address the challenge of signal degradation. They also plan to demonstrate the wake-up receiver’s capabilities in small sensors and optimize it for real-world applications. This breakthrough in wake-up receiver technology has the potential to revolutionize the IoT field, enabling the development of even smaller and more efficient devices with significantly improved battery life.
Summary: How a Tiny Device Can Prolong the Battery Life of Miniature Sensors
Researchers from MIT have developed a wake-up receiver that utilizes terahertz waves, allowing for the creation of a chip that is more than 10 times smaller than previous devices. The receiver, which incorporates a low-power authentication system, could help extend the battery life of miniature sensors or robots. The team built a receiver that operates on terahertz waves, which are smaller than radio waves, enabling a chip size of just over 1 square millimeter. The wake-up receiver could be used in microrobots or field-deployable radio networks for collecting localized data. The researchers also implemented a lightweight cryptography-based authentication block to protect against denial-of-sleep attacks.
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