DTPSCIDM: ENERGY AUTONOMOUS IOT DEVICES FOR WIRELESS SENSING APPLICATIONS

Supervisors: Dr Stylianos Assimonis (EEECS) (Potential Co-Supervisor) Prof Simon Cotton (EEECS) This project envisions the design of an energy autonomous, large-scale, low-cost wireless sensor network with battery-less sensor-nodes, based on ambient excitation, without the need for a dedicated excitation source, which in sharp contrast to state-of the art technologies, it will simultaneously aim to both long-range connectivity between the sensor nodes-reader(s) and high-data rate. Academic Requirements:2.1 honours degree or equivalent in Electrical and Electronic Engineering or relevant degree is required

A What if we could just sense temperature or humidity or movement etc., from hundreds of sensors, e.g., randomly dispersed from an aircraft, far from infrastructures and transmit all this information to a reader, e.g., to a drone, hundreds of meters away by using only ambient power?

If this is possible it would remove the need for permanent infrastructure, while facilitating remote sensing of the environment – with exciting applications such as crop monitoring etc. – across a much larger scale and in more detail than is currently possible. To achieve this, wireless communication technology should target the development of IoT devices which exhibit some amazing but challenging properties:

a)battery-less, harvesting energy of ambient sources and consuming ultra-low power to operate and communicate,

b)long-range, able to communicate over long distances with a remote access point,

c)ambient excitation signal, using ambient signals as carrier wave, instead of a dedicated continuous wave transmitter to send an excitation signal, which consistently consumes extra spectrum and complicates deployment,

d)low-cost, enabling the development of large-scale wireless networks,

e)relatively high-rate, able to serve data demanding applications.

To the best of our knowledge, no existing wireless technology fulfils all these requirements. This project envisions the design of an energy autonomous, large-scale, low-cost wireless sensor network with battery-less sensor-nodes, based on ambient excitation, without the need for a dedicated excitation source (ambient backscatter (AB)), which in sharp contrast to state-of the art technologies, it will simultaneously aim to both long-range connectivity between the sensor nodes-reader(s) and high-communication rate.

The successful candidate will be part of a vigorous research team and will find all the support and technical help in order to pursue her/his research interests.

Objectives:

1.Formulate a novel and holistic design framework for energy autonomous IoT devices for AB communication

2.Analysis and design of novel, energy autonomous, scatter radio-based sensor-nodes

3.Fabrication, measurement and development of testbed (prototyping development)

ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING OVERVIEW

The School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EEECS) aims to enhance the way we use technology in communication, data science, computing systems, cyber security, power electronics, intelligent control, and many related areas.

You’ll be part of a dynamic doctoral research environment and will study alongside students from

over 40 countries worldwide; we supervise students undertaking research in key areas of electronics and

electrical engineering, including: power electronics,robotics, wireless communications, cybersecurity and sensor-based systems. As part of a lively community of over 100 full-time and part-time research students you’ll have the opportunity to develop your research potential in a vibrant research community that prioritises the cross-fertilisation of ideas and innovation in the advancement of knowledge.

Within the School we have a number of specialist research centres including a Global Research Institute, the Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT) specialising in Cyber Security, Wireless Innovation and Data Science and scalable computing.

Many PhD studentships attract scholarships and top-up supplements. PhD programmes provide our students with the opportunity to acquire an extensive training in research techniques.

Electrical & Electronic Engineering Highlights

Professional Accreditations

• ECIT brings together, in one building, internationally recognised research groups specialising in key areas of advanced digital and communications technology.

Industry Links

• CSIT brings together research specialists in complementary fields such as data security, network security systems, wireless-enabled security systems, intelligent surveillance systems; and serves as the national point of reference for knowledge transfer in these areas.
• Electric Power and Energy Systems research is focused on problems related to distributed sources of energy and their integration into power networks. The cluster is a member of the IET Power Academy and is a major collaborator on all-island energy research.
• SoCaM is dedicated to the design of advanced, integrated, high-speed wireless and couples activities in High Frequency Electronics, System-on-Chip, Signals and Systems and Digital Signal Processing, and for Gigabit/sec wireless.

World Class Facilities

• The Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology, with state-of-the-art technology, offers a bespoke research environment.

Internationally Renowned Experts

• You will be working under the supervision of leading international academic experts.

Key Facts

Research students are encouraged to play a full and active role in relation to the wide range of research activities undertaken within the School and there are many resources available including:

• Access to the Queen's University Postgraduate Researcher Development Programme
• A wide range of personal development and specialist training courses offered through the Personal Development programme
• Office accommodation with access to computing facilities and support to attend conferences for full-time PhD students