Enabling Hardware Green Internet of Things: A review of Substantial Issues

Between now and the near future, the Internet of Things (IoT) will redesign the socio-ecological morphology of the human terrain. The IoT ecosystem deploys diverse sensor platforms connecting millions of heterogeneous objects through the Internet. Irrespective of sensor functionality, most sensors are low energy consumption devices and are designed to transmit sporadically or continuously. However, when we consider the millions of connected sensors powering various user applications, their energy efficiency (EE) becomes a critical issue. Therefore, the importance of EE in IoT technology, as well as the development of EE solutions for sustainable IoT technology, cannot be overemphasised. Propelled by this need, EE proposals are expected to address the EE issues in the IoT context. Consequently, many developments continue to emerge, and the need to highlight them to provide clear insights to researchers on eco-sustainable and green IoT technologies becomes a crucial task. To pursue a clear vision of green IoT, this study aims to present the current state-of-the art insights into energy saving practices and strategies on green IoT. The major contribution of this study includes reviews and discussions of substantial issues in the enabling of hardware green IoT, such as green machine to machine, green wireless sensor networks, green radio frequency identification, green microcontroller units, integrated circuits and processors. This review will contribute significantly towards the future implementation of green and eco-sustainable IoT

Wireless Power Transfer Technology for Electric Vehicle Charging

In the years 1884-1889, after Nicola Tesla invented "Tesla Coil", wireless power transfer (WPT) technology is in front of the world. WPT technologies can be categorized into three groups: inductive based WPT, magnetic resonate coupling (MRC) based WPT and electromagnetic radiation based WPT. MRC-WPT is advantageous with respect to its high safety and long transmission distance. Thus it plays an important role in the design of wireless electric vehicle (EV) charging systems. The most significant drawback of all WPT systems is the low efficiency of the energy transferred. Most losses happen during the transfer from coil to coil. This thesis proposes a novel coil design and adaptive hardware to improve power transfer efficiency (PTE) in magnetic resonant coupling WPT and mitigate coil misalignment, a crucial roadblock to the acceptance of WPT for EV. In addition, I do some analysis of multiple segmented transmitters design for dynamic wireless EVs charging and propose an adaptive renewable (wind) energy-powered dynamic wireless charging system for EV

Design and development of novel radio frequency identification (RFID) tag structures

The objective of the proposed research is to design and develop a series of radio frequency identification (RFID) tag structures that exhibit good performance characteristics with cost optimization and can be realized on flexible substrates such as liquid crystal polymer (LCP), paper-based substrate and magnetic composite material for conformal applications. The demand for flexible RFID tags has recently increased tremendously due to the requirements of automatic identification in various areas. Several major challenges existing in today's RFID technologies need to be addressed before RFID can eventually march into everyone's daily life, such as how to design high performance tag antennas with effective impedance matching for passive RFID IC chips to optimize the power performance, how to fabricate ultra-low-cost RFID tags in order to facilitate mass production, how to integrate sensors with passive RFID tags for pervasive sensing applications, and how to realize battery-free active RFID tags in which changing battery is not longer needed. In this research, different RFID tag designs are realized on flexible substrates. The design techniques presented set the framework for answering these technical challenges for which, the focus will be on RFID tag structure design, characterization and optimization from the perspectives of both costs involved and technical constraints.Ph.D.Committee Chair: Tentzeris, Manos; Committee Member: DeJean, Gerald; Committee Member: Ingram, Mary; Committee Member: Kavadias, Stylianos; Committee Member: Laskar, Jo

A Techno-Economic Analysis of Space-Based Solar Power Systems

Space-based solar power (SBSP) promises to provide flexible renewable baseload power. However, no full-system prototype exists due to a perceived lack of economic viability. The goal of this thesis is therefore to determine how different technology approaches can improve key technical metrics of SBSP and consequently the economics. For this purpose, we divide the system into its three main segments and define critical metrics for the performance of each subsystem. Based on these, novel technology approaches from the literature are then evaluated. For the solar satellite, we are able to show that a number of technology options exist that might improve power levels, radiation resistance, and mass-related ratios. These advances would greatly benefit overall system economics, as the space segment constitutes a big lever for enhancing the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE). Furthermore, microwave power beaming efficiencies in line with required levels have been demonstrated but so far lack the scale and distance necessary for SBSP. Ultimately, the global capacity in space lift capabilities appears to be a major bottleneck. Consequently, a reduction in mass of the satellite would not only be a matter of economics but might render any such project even possible in the first place. Keywords: Energy; Solar; Space; Microwaves; Sustainability.Space-based solar power (SBSP) promises to provide flexible renewable baseload power. However, no full-system prototype exists due to a perceived lack of economic viability. The goal of this thesis is therefore to determine how different technology approaches can improve key technical metrics of SBSP and consequently the economics. For this purpose, we divide the system into its three main segments and define critical metrics for the performance of each subsystem. Based on these, novel technology approaches from the literature are then evaluated. For the solar satellite, we are able to show that a number of technology options exist that might improve power levels, radiation resistance, and mass-related ratios. These advances would greatly benefit overall system economics, as the space segment constitutes a big lever for enhancing the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE). Furthermore, microwave power beaming efficiencies in line with required levels have been demonstrated but so far lack the scale and distance necessary for SBSP. Ultimately, the global capacity in space lift capabilities appears to be a major bottleneck. Consequently, a reduction in mass of the satellite would not only be a matter of economics but might render any such project even possible in the first place. Keywords: Energy; Solar; Space; Microwaves; Sustainability

Energy sustainable paradigms and methods for future mobile networks: A survey

In this survey, we discuss the role of energy in the design of future mobile networks and, in particular, we advocate and elaborate on the use of energy harvesting (EH) hardware as a means to decrease the environmental footprint of 5G technology. To take full advantage of the harvested (renewable) energy, while still meeting the quality of service required by dense 5G deployments, suitable management techniques are here reviewed, highlighting the open issues that are still to be solved to provide eco-friendly and cost-effective mobile architectures. Several solutions have recently been proposed to tackle capacity, coverage and efficiency problems, including: C-RAN, Software Defined Networking (SDN) and fog computing, among others. However, these are not explicitly tailored to increase the energy efficiency of networks featuring renewable energy sources, and have the following limitations: (i) their energy savings are in many cases still insufficient and (ii) they do not consider network elements possessing energy harvesting capabilities. In this paper, we systematically review existing energy sustainable paradigms and methods to address points (i) and (ii), discussing how these can be exploited to obtain highly efficient, energy self-sufficient and high capacity networks. Several open issues have emerged from our review, ranging from the need for accurate energy, transmission and consumption models, to the lack of accurate data traffic profiles, to the use of power transfer, energy cooperation and energy trading techniques. These challenges are here discussed along with some research directions to follow for achieving sustainable 5G systems.Comment: Accepted by Elsevier Computer Communications, 21 pages, 9 figure

Modeling of Magnetic Resonance Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging

Due to the fast-growing market for an electric vehicle, it is necessary that the drawbacks involved in electric vehicle technology should be overcome, therefore introducing a wireless charging technique which is more convenient as battery cost, recharge time and weight has been removed. Different wireless charging techniques for electric vehicles are discussed. This research work investigates the feasibility of wireless power transfer for Electric Vehicles by electromagnetic resonance coupling. Wireless power transfer (WPT) for Electric Vehicles by magnetic resonance coupling is of high priority due to its efficiency, high power transmission, and more considerable charging distance. Simulation results show the energy transfer efficiency between two magnetically coupled resonating coils. However, results show the effects of parameters such as an inductor, capacitor, load and coupling coefficient on efficiency. Additionally, implementation of a closed loop circuit using a three-level cascaded PI controller for the dynamic wireless electric vehicle charging to eliminate the variation of voltage because of varied spacing existing between both coils as the vehicle is in motion and thereby delivering a constant voltage and constant current to the load is carried out. Simulation results and comparison with a single level PI controller indicate the effectiveness of the control method. A fuzzy logic and neuro-fuzzy controller are implemented for the wireless electric vehicle transfer which is seen to be more robust than the PI controller as there is no undershoot in the output voltage. Furthermore, wireless power transfer with three - level cascaded PI controller with MPPT is designed. The proposed system consists of a solar PV array, boost DC/DC converter, inverter, transmitter coil, a receiver coil, rectifier, buck converter, and batteries. The design of the MPPT controller tracks the highest voltage and current from the PV array required to charge a battery in which the highest power point voltage is 61.5 V. The stability analysis for the closed-loop system has been done and the system is asymptotically stable

Energy-Sustainable IoT Connectivity: Vision, Technological Enablers, Challenges, and Future Directions

Technology solutions must effectively balance economic growth, social equity, and environmental integrity to achieve a sustainable society. Notably, although the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm constitutes a key sustainability enabler, critical issues such as the increasing maintenance operations, energy consumption, and manufacturing/disposal of IoT devices have long-term negative economic, societal, and environmental impacts and must be efficiently addressed. This calls for self-sustainable IoT ecosystems requiring minimal external resources and intervention, effectively utilizing renewable energy sources, and recycling materials whenever possible, thus encompassing energy sustainability. In this work, we focus on energy-sustainable IoT during the operation phase, although our discussions sometimes extend to other sustainability aspects and IoT lifecycle phases. Specifically, we provide a fresh look at energy-sustainable IoT and identify energy provision, transfer, and energy efficiency as the three main energy-related processes whose harmonious coexistence pushes toward realizing self-sustainable IoT systems. Their main related technologies, recent advances, challenges, and research directions are also discussed. Moreover, we overview relevant performance metrics to assess the energy-sustainability potential of a certain technique, technology, device, or network and list some target values for the next generation of wireless systems. Overall, this paper offers insights that are valuable for advancing sustainability goals for present and future generations.Comment: 25 figures, 12 tables, submitted to IEEE Open Journal of the Communications Societ

Inductive Wireless Power Transfer Charging for Electric vehicles - A Review

Considering a future scenario in which a driverless Electric Vehicle (EV) needs an automatic charging system without human intervention. In this regard, there is a requirement for a fully automatable, fast, safe, cost-effective, and reliable charging infrastructure that provides a profitable business model and fast adoption in the electrified transportation systems. These qualities can be comprehended through wireless charging systems. Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) is a futuristic technology with the advantage of flexibility, convenience, safety, and the capability of becoming fully automated. In WPT methods resonant inductive wireless charging has to gain more attention compared to other wireless power transfer methods due to high efficiency and easy maintenance. This literature presents a review of the status of Resonant Inductive Wireless Power Transfer Charging technology also highlighting the present status and its future of the wireless EV market. First, the paper delivers a brief history throw lights on wireless charging methods, highlighting the pros and cons. Then, the paper aids a comparative review of different type’s inductive pads, rails, and compensations technologies done so far. The static and dynamic charging techniques and their characteristics are also illustrated. The role and importance of power electronics and converter types used in various applications are discussed. The batteries and their management systems as well as various problems involved in WPT are also addressed. Different trades like cyber security economic effects, health and safety, foreign object detection, and the effect and impact on the distribution grid are explored. Prospects and challenges involved in wireless charging systems are also highlighting in this work. We believe that this work could help further the research and development of WPT systems.publishedVersio