Battery-free solutions harvest power from RFID sources
Power-over-distance wireless charging specialist Powercast and electronic components manufacturer KYOCERA AVX have announced that they are teaming to create sustainable, battery-free solutions capable of harvesting power from industry-standard RFID readers to power ESLs (electronic shelf labels), RFID Sensor Tags and other battery-free IoT devices. The solutions comprise a Powercast PCC110 Powerharvester receiver chip embedded in electronic devices that harvests RF out of the air when it comes within range of a UHF RFID reader, converts that RF to DC (direct current), and then stores it in a KYOCERA AVX supercapacitor for discharge when needed.
This battery-independent power storage, say the companies, eliminates battery replacement maintenance and keeps disposable batteries out of landfills. At CES 2023, the companies will demonstrate two Powercast products that highlight the joint technologies:
- Powercast’s newly-redesigned PCT100 RFID Sensor Tags which measure temperature, humidity and light for environmental monitoring in the retail, medical, warehousing and industrial IoT markets.
- Powercast’s new battery-free ESL which wirelessly updates an ePaper screen to display instructions on bins in warehouses to facilitate picking or assembly.
“The ability to power green, sustainable devices solely from the RF harvested from the RFID readers deployed today throughout many industries can solve the main problem IoT deployments face – battery replacement,” says Charles Greene, PhD, COO and CTO of Powercast. “We are teaming with KYOCERA AVX whose thin, advanced supercapacitors can store the energy generated by Powercast Technology and discharge as needed to either directly power a battery-free device, or recharge a rechargeable battery.”
Mamoon Abedraboh, Global Product Marketing Manager for Supercapacitor & Power Capacitors, KYOCERA AVX says, “This collaborative effort can be used to develop environmentally-friendly smart home IoT ecosystems that eliminate disposable batteries, while extending backup time and providing instantaneous power pulses as needed. Our vision is to make IoT more sustainable now and into the future.”
Both Powercast (booth #52311) and KYOCERA AVX (booth #11123) will demonstrate the solutions at CES 2023 in Las Vegas, January 5 – 8, 2023.
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