Body-coupled Power Transmission and Energy Harvesting
June 10, 2021
Publication
Wireless power transmission and energy harvesting techniques could be used to power and operate devices in, on and around
the human body. However, near-field power transmission approaches are limited by distance, and the efficiency of far-field
radiofrequency methods is limited by the body shadowing effect. Here, we show that the body-coupling characteristics of electromagnetic
waves—which are either artificially introduced or present in the immediate surroundings—can be used to enable a
power transmission and energy harvesting method that offers power to locations all around the body. The body-coupled power
transmission exhibits a path loss 30- to 70-dB lower than far-field radiofrequency transmission in the presence of body shadowing.
The system can recover 2 μW at the head from an ~1.2-mW transmitter placed 160 cm away at the ankle. In the absence
of an active power transmitter, we demonstrate placement-independent scavenging of ambient electromagnetic waves coupled
onto the human body, resulting in a power recovery of ~2.2 μW from electromagnetic waves of up to −10-dBm on the body.
Researcher/Author: Jiamin Li, Yilong Dong, Jeong Hoan Park and Jerald Yoo
Nature Electronics, 10.1038/s41928-021-00592-y; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41928-021-00592-y
Researcher/Author: Jiamin Li, Yilong Dong, Jeong Hoan Park and Jerald Yoo
Nature Electronics, 10.1038/s41928-021-00592-y; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41928-021-00592-y