OPPO Concept – Future Without Batteries

OPPO, one of the world’s leading smartphone brands, has released its “Zero-Power Communication White Paper”. In the near future, IoT devices will be able to charge directly from mobile phone signals, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, which will make them cheaper and more compact, as well as increase durability. This is the latest news on OPPO from Techobig

Zero power consumption can be applied to electronic tags, which will allow them to be used without replacing or recharging the battery. So, for example, every endangered migratory bird will be equipped with tracking devices over long distances. Thus, the number of batteries will be significantly reduced.

The OPPO report examines the technical positioning of zero-power communications technology in the context of today’s unmet demand in the IoT space, and describes the future roadmap for the development of technology, taking into account compatibility with other communication systems of the future.

Today, the battery is the main power source for most portable electronic devices. Although battery technologies are constantly evolving, they have a number of unsolved problems: large size, high production cost, limited lifespan, and high pollution rates. Zero power communications technology eliminates the need for batteries by harvesting environmental RF energy to generate electricity, resulting in compact, low cost devices. This technology will be in demand and effective in applications for warehouses, agriculture, logistics, as well as wearable devices, smart homes and other advanced user applications.

“The telecommunications industry has gone through four technological leaps – from analog to digital data and finally to broadband. Each of these evolutionary phases was created to provide faster data transfer rates, and now that we are seeing the adoption of 5G technology, we believe that data transfer will no longer be as important a driving force in telecommunications technology over the next decade. We believe that technology must evolve to improve the user experience and deliver sustainable value to society. Zero-power communication technology allows electronics manufacturers to eliminate the need to equip their products with batteries, while reducing financial costs and environmental impact. Therefore, the development of zero-power communications is one of our priority areas as we transition to the B5G/6G generation,” said Henry Tang, OPPO 5G Chief Scientist.

While passive communication technology is already applied today in radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, it has a number of problems such as short communication distances, low efficiency and low system throughput. This creates serious problems when it is used in various applications.

Zero-power devices for charging can collect radio signals from the environment transmitted from sources such as TV towers, FM radio towers, communication base stations and Wi-Fi access points (APs). After receiving an existing stream of radio waves, the device changes these signals, supplementing them with its own information, and transmits by backscattering. At the same time, when designing communication networks with zero power consumption, it is necessary to take into account their compatibility with existing 4G / 5G systems, as well as unlicensed and licensed bands.

Zero power communications systems can be based on cellular, dedicated fiber, or hybrid. Cellular-based zero-power communication systems are best suited to support industrial network communications, such as applications where devices may need to be deployed in extreme environments, a large number of devices on the network, or the high maintenance costs of traditional devices. On the other hand, the direct connection approach is more suitable for low-cost communications, such as wearables or smart home devices, where they are also used to process the data they receive. The hybrid approach allows developers to access more applications using zero power communication systems.

Today, the battery is the main power source for most portable electronic devices. Although battery technologies are constantly evolving, they have a number of unsolved problems: large size, high production cost, limited lifespan, and high pollution rates. Zero power communications technology eliminates the need for batteries by harvesting environmental RF energy to generate electricity, resulting in compact, low cost devices. This technology will be in demand and effective in applications for warehouses, agriculture, logistics, as well as wearable devices, smart homes and other advanced user applications.

“The telecommunications industry has gone through four technological leaps – from analog to digital data and finally to broadband. Each of these evolutionary phases was created to provide faster data transfer rates, and now that we are seeing the adoption of 5G technology, we believe that data transfer will no longer be as important a driving force in telecommunications technology over the next decade. We believe that technology must evolve to improve the user experience and deliver sustainable value to society. Zero-power communication technology allows electronics manufacturers to eliminate the need to equip their products with batteries, while reducing financial costs and environmental impact. Therefore, the development of zero-power communications is one of our priority areas as we transition to the B5G/6G generation,” said Henry Tang, OPPO 5G Chief Scientist.

While passive communication technology is already applied today in radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, it has a number of problems such as short communication distances, low efficiency and low system throughput. This creates serious problems when it is used in various applications.

Zero-power devices for charging can collect radio signals from the environment transmitted from sources such as TV towers, FM radio towers, communication base stations and Wi-Fi access points (APs). After receiving an existing stream of radio waves, the device changes these signals, supplementing them with its own information, and transmits by backscattering. At the same time, when designing communication networks with zero power consumption, it is necessary to take into account their compatibility with existing 4G / 5G systems, as well as unlicensed and licensed bands.

Zero power communications systems can be based on cellular, dedicated fiber, or hybrid. Cellular-based zero-power communication systems are best suited to support industrial network communications, such as applications where devices may need to be deployed in extreme environments, a large number of devices on the network, or the high maintenance costs of traditional devices. On the other hand, the direct connection approach is more suitable for low-cost communications, such as wearables or smart home devices, where they are also used to process the data they receive. The hybrid approach allows developers to access more applications using zero power communication systems.

Prior to the release of the “Zero Power Communication” report, OPPO released the “6G AI-Cube Intelligent Network” report in July as part of advanced communication technology research. In line with its brand mission “Technologies for All. Welcome to everyone”, OPPO plans to release a commercial zero-power communication technology within the next 3-5 years, while continuing to improve the user experience.