Design and Prototype Implementation of Long-Range Self-Powered Wireless IoT Devices

Abstract

This paper presents the design and prototype implementation of long-range self-powered wireless IoT devices using nRF52840 based on energy harvesting. The test-bed is setup in both star and multi-hop configurations with optimized custom protocols. In both network configurations, nodes consume less power than what is harvested in an indoor light environment using a small 0.36W rated monocrystalline solar panel. The average power by which the battery was charged during the test was 941.94µW in an indoor environment. Nodes are able to operate for 12 months using a fully charged 120mAh rated rechargeable coin cell battery with 55s transmission interval. Based on measurements, a line of sight range of 1.8km is obtained using coded transmissions. Sensors of temperature, relative humidity and visible light are integrated into the nodes.