Call for Papers – Passive Internet of Things: challenges, solutions, and future trends

This PeerJ Computer Science Special Issue solicits the most recent research relating to the passive internet of things – devices that obtain energy from their local environment rather than batteries.

“Passive sensing brings new opportunities for the Internet of Things, and we are excited to receive the latest research developments in this field.” – Special Issue Editor Dr Jian Su, Associate Professor, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology

The Internet of Things (IoT) expands the ability of human beings to sense, understand, and interact with the world. It is profoundly changing the human living environment and our way of life. The total number of devices connected through the Internet of Things reached 26.1 billion in 2020, whilst the average annual compound growth rate reached 35%, of which wireless sensors and other network nodes account for about 60% of the total.

Sensors are typically reliant on batteries and as such inherently energy dependent. The passive (battery-free) IoT has begun to emerge to address this, bringing in a new paradigm of passive sensor networks. The aim of this new paradigm is that IoT nodes would not need to be equipped with power devices (batteries), but could obtain energy (and therefore sensory input) from their local, physical environment to support themselves.

If these passive sensor networks do not require the same level of maintenance, they can be suited to harsh, dangerous-to-access locations, thereby minimizing safety risk to researchers and engineers. However, these systems are difficult to design, existing networking methods are not yet suitable for passive sensory transmission, and the quality of the data gathered can be low.

This Special Issue aims to focus discussion on the benefits and limitations of the passive IoT. We welcome research on medium access control, wearables, and applications of Fog/Edge computing to passive sensing networks, as well as sensor/system architecture and network framework discussions. These should be in the form of standard research articles or literature review articles.

To find out more and submit your abstract, please visit peerj.com/special-issues/130-passive-iot