Bluetooth sensors play a crucial role in Internet of Things (IOF) devices, but there is one limitation: They need a battery or some other significant power source to work.
It seems that in our world there is a somewhat strange source of energy, since the industrial semiconductor manufacturing company Wiliot has created a card containing a Bluetooth sensor, which in order to work, gathers energy from radio frequencies in the environment and does not require any kind of batteries or other source of electrical energy.
All of the ARM chip's energy needs are based on an antenna printed on a small piece of paper or plastic, and so it can transmit information such as weight and temperature, without any kind of battery.
The battery-free approach could lead to the creation of self-adhesive labels on various products that don't currently have this capability. Clothes, for example, could warn you when they're about to be ruined by high temperatures in the wash, or shipping companies could track products until they arrive at your doorstep. And since there are only a few extra materials involved in making a battery-free Bluetooth, such labels would be extremely low-cost.
The bluetooth tabs are expected to be ready for use in 2020. To this end, Wiliot has just completed its strategic funding alliances, worth $30 million, with Amazon Web Services, Avery Dennison and Samsung.
Wiliot's backers believe that this technology will succeed and in the near future you will see these tabs in widespread use.
Watch the related video below:
