We are holding European School of Antennas on ‘Energy Harvesting and Wireless Power Transfer for RFIDs and Wireless Sensor Networks’ from 8th to 12th Oct. 2018 at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.
Course Coordinators:
- Dr. Yuan Ding (yuan.ding@hw.ac.uk)
- Prof. George Goussetis (g.goussetis@hw.ac.uk)
- Prof. Apostolos Georgiadis (apostolos.georgiadis@ieee.org)
Flier can be downloaded here.
Energy Harvesting and Wireless Power Transfer for RFIDs and Wireless Sensor Networks
Although energy efficiency and power savings have always been present in the design of wireless communication systems, they have become one of the main drivers for research in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) and Heterogeneous network devices.
The school will first provide an overview of energy harvesting and wireless power transfer techniques for autonomous devices, with the aim of providing an understanding of the hardware technologies and RF aspects involved.
This first block includes both theoretical and practical exercises (rectenna design project). The second part of the course deals with communication and information processing techniques that not only address energy efficiency but also capacity and reliability issues and the concept of joint information and power transfer. The course will also provide a theoretical framework to understand the principles of suitable communication strategies and other relevant aspects of the communication system design in the presence of power-limited/energy-harvesting devices.
The topics of the course have been:
- Day 1: School overview, antenna introduction and student project description
- Day 2: Energy harvesting and wireless power transfer technology
- Day 3: Green and low energy communications
- Day 4: Wireless Information and Power Transfer
- Day 5: Student Project Presentations and Assessment
The course lasted 5 days and the schedule comprised 30 hours including theoretical lectures (20 hours), guided design project (8 hours), and final exam (2 hours).
List of Course Lecturers
| Name | Organisation | Title |
| Apostolos Georgiadis | Heriot-Watt University (UK) | Prof. |
| George Goussetis | Heriot-Watt University (UK) | Prof. |
| Yuan Ding | Heriot-Watt University (UK) | Dr |
| Dimitris Anagnostou | Heriot-Watt University (UK) | Dr |
| Symon Podilchak | Heriot-Watt University (UK) | Dr |
| Nuno B. Carvalho | Institute of Telecommunications, University of Aveiro (Portugal) | Prof. |
| John Thompson | The University of Edinburgh (UK) | Prof. |
| Monica Navarro | Centre Technologic de Telecommunications de Catalunya (Spain) | Dr |
| Timothy O’Farrell | The University of Sheffield (UK) | Prof. |
| Bruno Clerckx | Imperial College London (UK) | Dr |
Lecture Programme
The lectures of the ESoA Course on “Energy Harvesting and Wireless Power Transfer for RFIDs and Wireless Sensor Networks” took place from Monday 8th Oct. to Friday 12th Oct. 2018 according to the following schedule:
| Day 1 | Introduction (Monday, 8th Oct. 2018) |
| 9:00 – 9:30 | Registration and Welcome Reception |
| 9:30 – 10:00 | Title: Opening and the Overview of the School Prof. George Goussetis, Heriot-Watt University, UK |
| 10:00 – 11:00 | Title: Basics of Antennas Dr. Dimitris Anagnostou, Heriot-Watt University, UK |
| 11:00 – 11:15 | Coffee Break |
| 11:15 – 12:15 | Title: Rectenna Design Prof. Apostolos Georgiadis, Heriot-Watt University, UK |
| 12:15 – 13:30 | Lunch Break |
| 13:30 – 17:00 | * Antenna Simulation Demonstration * Rectifier Simulation Demonstration * Antenna Measurement Demonstration * Student Hand-on Simulation Project Coffee Break at 15:30 |
| Day 2 | Energy Harvesting & Wireless Power Transfer Technology (Tuesday, 9th Oct. 2018) |
| 9:00 – 10:45 | Title: Backscatter Circuits, A Renew Paradigm for IoT Sensors – Design Strategies Prof. Nuno B. Carvalho, Institute of Telecommunications, University of Aveiro, Portugal |
| 10:45 – 11:00 | Coffee Break |
| 11:00 – 12:45 | Title: Time Reversal Techniques by Retrodirective Antenna Arrays for Wireless Power Transfer Dr. Symon Podilchak, Heriot-Watt University, UK |
| 12:45 – 14:00 | Lunch Break |
| 14:00 – 17:00 | Visiting James Clerk Maxwell Foundation |
| 18:30 | Dinner |
| Day 3 | Green and Low Energy Wireless Communications (Wednesday, 10th Oct. 2018) |
| 9:00 – 10:45 | Title: Overview of Green Wireless Communications Research Prof. John Thompson, The University of Edinburgh, UK |
| 10:45 – 11:00 | Coffee Break |
| 11:00 -12:45 | Title: Basics of Communication – Information Theory Dr. Monica Navarro, Centre Technologic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya, Spain |
| 12:45 – 14:00 | Lunch Break |
| 14:00 – 15:30 | Title: Energy Efficiency Evaluation Framework for Ultra-Dense Cellular Networks Prof. Timothy O’Farrell, The University of Sheffield, UK |
| 15:30 – 15:45 | Coffee Break |
| 15:45 – 17:15 | Title: Signal Theory and Design for Wireless Transmission of Information and Power Prof. Bruno Clerckx, Imperial College London, UK |
| Day 4 | Energy Harvesting & Wireless Power Transfer Technology (Thursday, 11th Oct. 2018) |
| 9:00 – 10:00 | Title: Introduction to RFID Technology Dr. Yuan Ding, Heriot-Watt University, UK |
| 10:00 – 10:20 | Coffee Break |
| 10:20 – 11:20 | Title: Energy Harvesting and Wireless Power Transfer for RFID and Wireless Sensors: From Circuit Optimization and Signal Design to Ambient RF Backscattering Prof. Apostolos Georgiadis, Heriot-Watt University, UK |
| 11:20 – 12:20 | Rectenna Hand-on Demonstration |
| 12:20 – 14:00 | Lunch Break and Networking |
| 14:00 – 17:00 | * Student Hand-on Simulation Project * Student Hand-on Rectenna Measurement Coffee Break at 15:30 |
| Day 5 | Student Project Presentation and Assessment (Friday, 12th Oct. 2018) |
| 9:00 – 12:00 | Student Project Preparation and Report |
| 10:30 – 11:00 | Coffee Break |
| 11:00 – 12:30 | Student Project Presentation |
| 12:30 – 13:45 | Lunch Break |
| 13:45 – 14:15 | Student Project Assessment and Closing Remarks |
The first four days of lessons focused more on theoretical and experimental aspects with some session dedicated to student hand-on project. On Friday morning, the final exam and project presentation has been held.
Participants and Institutions
A total of 12 attendees from 8 different Institutions attended the course. A photo of the one of the lesson is reported in the photo shown left.
Logistic Arrangements
The course has been held in Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh Campus in the UK (https://www.hw.ac.uk/).
As for the lodging, a list of solutions (including hotels, bed & breakfast, and apartments) has been provided by sharing detailed information through the course website as well as with dedicated e-mails to all course attendees. The lesson room was largest meeting room (EM 2.33) in the Institute. The room has been equipped with a large screen for slide projections, whiteboards, and microphones. Some pictures of the venue and lectures are shown below.
Social Dinner
The official course dinner – included in the registration fees – has been held on Tuesday 9th Oct. at the ‘The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’ restaurant. The restaurant is located at 28 Queen Street, Edinburgh EH21JX in Edinburgh city centre. This choice has been made to facilitate the society discussion among lecturers and attendees, and also give attendees an opportunity to explore the beautiful city. The dinner was traditional Scottish style with Whisky available. One photo of the social dinner is reported as below.
Course Management
The course has been advertised and managed in a dedicated website , with the course programme, lecturers, registration, and other related information described clearly. A screen-shot of the website is shown as below.
https://microwaves.hw.ac.uk/news-events/energy-harvesting-and-wireless-power-transfer-for-rfids-and-wireless-sensor-networks.html (Note: This webpage has been disabled, and contents have been move to this new blog)
Project Exercises
In order to practice on the antenna and rectify circuit design, the students were assigned with simulation project. They were given freedom to choose different types of antennas and rectify circuits. The goal was to get familiar with the required simulation software, including CST microwave studio and ADS. The outcome of the research projects were presented on Friday.
Exams
An optional (mandatory only for students who needed an attendance certificate) final exam has been planned for all attendees. The exam had been taken place on the last day of the course. Each exam question has been composed by the course lecturers in advance, and they were well related to the contents presented during the course. The results of the exam have been made available afterwards. Three £50 Amazon Vouchers had been awarded to the top three attendees.
Students’ Course Evaluation
After the exam time, an evaluation form has been delivered to all the course attendees for yielding a suitable feedback. The rating system is from 1 to 5, 1 being the worst note and 5 being the best. The average scores are provided in below.
- Q. 1. The lectures were of high standard and used up-to-date materials — 4.5
- Q. 2. The materials were concise and informative — 4.8
- Q. 3. Students had opportunity to raise questions during and after the lectures — 4.8
- Q. 4. The course provided valuable opportunities for networking — 4.5
- Q. 5. The project work was useful for my learning — 4.3
- Q. 6. I gained what expected — 4.5
- Q. 7. The social events were well planned — 4.3
The attendees suggested to improve the next edition of the course by considering the following item: More choice of simulation software and more design examples
Acknowledgements
This course was supported by ESoA.