6G Wireless Technology Can Use Humans as a Power Source

AMHRST, Mass. - 5G wireless technology is starting to take off around the world, but a new study is already speculating about the future of 6G! Researchers from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst say that unlike older technology, 6G could use humans as antennas. Specifically, 6G telecommunications could benefit from Visible Light Communication (VLC), which is like a wireless version of fiber optics. Currently, fiber optics uses incredibly thin glass or plastic wires to transmit information about flashes of light. These wires are extremely small but also extremely fragile.

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It Uses the Human Body as an Antenna

The UMass Amherst team says they have created a low-cost and innovative way to harvest waste energy from VLC using the human body as an antenna. Their invention can recycle waste energy to power wearables and possibly larger electronic devices. Jie Xiong, professor of information and computer science at UMass Amherst, in a university broadcast,

What makes VLC so attractive for the future of wireless technology is that the infrastructure to use it already exists. Thanks to modern technology and smart devices, our homes, vehicles, streetlights and offices are lit by LED bulbs and can transmit data at the same time. "Anything with a camera, such as our smartphones, tablets or laptops, can be a receiver." Xiong explains.

6G Can Rely on VLC "Leak"

The team explains that VLC systems experience a significant energy "leak" because LEDs emit "side-channel RF signals" or radio waves. If scientists can collect this RF energy, they can harness it. To make this a reality, they designed an antenna out of coiled copper wire to collect the leaking RF. The big question is what kind of object maximizes the collection of this energy?

The researchers experimented with all kinds of surfaces and thicknesses of wire. First author Minhao Cui tried wrapping the coil around a human body after subjecting the coil to plastic, cardboard, wood and steel, as well as phones and other digital devices being turned on and off. The results show that humans are actually the best medium for enhancing the coil's ability to collect leaking RF energy. Attaching the coil to a person collects up to 10 times more energy than using a bare coil.

A Cheap Wristband Can Give You 6G Service

Based on these results, the researchers have developed an inexpensive, wearable device called "Bracelet+" that people can wear on their upper forearm. The study authors note that they could modify it to work as a ring, belt, anklet or necklace, but a bracelet seems to work best for power harvesting. Study authors,

Xiong says "Ultimately, we want to be able to harvest waste energy from all kinds of sources to power the technology of the future."