Towards Battery-free Radio Tomographic Imaging

Abstract

Radio Tomographic Imaging (RTI) enables novel radio frequency (RF) sensing applications such as intrusion detection systems by observing variations in radio links caused by human actions. RTI applications are, however, severely limited by the requirement to retrofit existing infrastructure with energy-expensive sensors. In this demonstration, we present our ongoing efforts to develop the first battery-free RTI system that operates on minuscule amounts of energy harvested from the ambient environment. Our system eliminates the energy-expensive components employed on state-of-the-art RTI systems achieving two orders of magnitude lower power consumption. Battery-free operation enables a sustainable deployment, as RTI sensors could be deployed for long periods of time with little maintenance effort. Our demonstration showcases an intrusion detection scenario enabled by our system.