No Battery, No Problem: Challenges and Opportunities in Batteryless Intermittent Networks

Abstract

The emergence of the Internet of things (IoT) brings a new paradigm of ubiquitous sensing and computing. Yet as an increasing number of wireless IoT devices are deployed, powering them with batteries becomes expensive and unsustainable. Batteryless systems harvesting energy from the ambient environment offer a promising solution to this problem. However, due to the unpredictability of the ambient energy sources and the relatively weak harvesting strength, these systems may operate intermittently, presenting a series of unique challenges above and beyond the challenges of traditional duty-cycled networks. In this article, we present and discuss the challenges and opportunities in batteryless intermittent networks. We make the case for, and propose, the first formal intermittency-aware network stack. Finally, we present future research directions for batteryless intermittent networks, with the expectation that research of this type can pave the way for batteryless intermittent networks as the next generation of ubiquitous IoT devices.