Wireless power delivery for wearable sensors and implants in Body Sensor Networks

A recent study on witricity (wireless electricity) has demonstrated that wireless energy can be delivered over a moderate distance using strongly coupled magnetic resonance. The objective of this work is to apply the witricity technology to the problem of powering a wireless Body Sensor Network (wBSN). The theory of witricity is investigated using coupled mode theory. Compact witricity resonators are designed, and a working prototype of witricity powered wBSN is built and evaluated. An energy transfer efficiency of about 80% over a distance of 15 cm is achieved. Besides the high efficiency, it has been observed that a certain misalignment between the transmitter and receiver has little effect on the power transfer. Our experimental results indicate that witricity provides a powerful solution to the energy supply problem of wBSN.