Design, Development and Deployment of Low-cost Short-range Self-powered Wireless IoT Devices

This article presents the design and prototype implementation of a low-cost and short-range self-powered wireless IoT device based on energy harvesting for both indoor and outdoor applications. Prototyped devices are deployed in a star network configuration with a custom protocol. Based on measurements, devices achieve a line-of-sight range of 228.5m above 40m from the ground level. Nodes are powered based on energy harvesting from a small 0.36W solar panel and 120mAh lithium button cell as storage elements. The test in the well-lit room shows an average harvested power of 941.94μW over a period of 2.5 days, while under the low lighting conditions showed an average of 212μW over a period of 24h. From measurements, a fully charged rechargeable 120mAh cell lasts for 278 days with 55s transmission interval. Temperature, visible lights level and relative humidity sensors are integrated into the nodes.