Cyber-physical systems—that is, the merging of the physical and virtual worlds—enable the smartification of critical civilian infrastructure, some of which is aging.
Miniaturized sensors, for example, embedded in steel bridge girders or pipelines, are a prerequisite for predictive maintenance, which increases safety while reducing costs. However, currently available technologies and methods are largely unsuitable for this purpose.
Wireless communication is severely limited or even impossible within solid structures, especially metallic ones. Wiring for communication or power supply is either not economically viable or compromises the integrity of the infrastructure. Batteries cannot guarantee the energy supply for the sensors over the infrastructure's lifetime. Therefore, alternative and novel technologies are needed.
In the proposed project, we address this challenge and conduct fundamental research on wireless acoustic passive backscatter communication.
- We investigate the properties and requirements of acoustic channels and communication methods, identify the key influencing factors, and develop methods, models, and practical tools for research.
- We explore broadband modulation techniques for fully passive and reliable communication in large networks.
- We design and investigate suitable methods for scaling large sensor networks.
- We are exploring the feasibility of battery-free sensors, thus laying the foundation for future research.
Within the scope of the proposed project, methods, algorithms, and protocols will be researched, theoretically modeled, simulated, and evaluated through experiments. The project will therefore make fundamental contributions to an emerging field of research with largely untapped potential for realizing a crucial, socially relevant, security-critical, and economic aspect of the digitalization and smartification of our world.
