Light-based Internet of Things: Implementation of an Optically Connected Energy-autonomous Node

In the near future, with the development of 5G NR, a massive number of IoT nodes are expected to come online. Acquiring bandwidth from an overcrowded licensed radio frequency spectrum as well as overcoming battery life constraints will become the main challenges for these IoT based devices. As a promising solution for the above challenges, this work provides a feasibility study and an implementation framework for a visible light communication-based energy-autonomous IoT node. This work proposes the use of printed electronic technology to minimize the physical characteristics and cost of the IoT node. In the future, energy-autonomous IoT nodes could be available virtually on any surface. Whenever the node is exposed to light, it will be connected to internet.