ScalABal: Scalable Acoustic Backscatter Systems in Metal Structures

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Bernd-Christian Renner
• Subject Area: Communication Technology and Networks, High-Frequency Technology and Photonic Systems, Signal Processing and Machine Learning for Information Technology ; Security and Dependability, Operating-, Communication- and Distributed Systems
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 560264529

Cyber-Physical Systems - i.e., the intertwining of the physical with the virtual world - enable the smartification of the partially ailing critical civil infrastructure. Miniaturized sensors in, e.g., bridges' steel beams or within pipelines are a prerequisite for predictive maintenance to increase safety at reduced costs. However, the technology and methods currently available are largely unsuitable for this purpose. Radio communication is severely limited or even impossible inside solid bodies, especially metallic ones. Cabling for communication or power supply is economically not desirable or impairs the infrastructure. Batteries cannot guarantee the energy supply of the sensors over the lifetime of the infrastructure. Therefore, alternative and novel technologies are required. In the proposed project, we take on this challenge and conduct fundamental research on wireless acoustic passive backscatter communication for battery-less devices. In particular, we make the following contributions: (1) We examine the properties and requirements of acoustic channels and communication methods, identify the main influencing factors, and develop methods, models, and practical tools for research. (2) We research wideband modulation methods for completely passive and resilient communication in large networks. (3) We design and examine appropriate scalability techniques for large sensor networks. (4) We study the feasibility of battery-lessness and trigger future research. As part of the proposed project, methods, algorithms, and protocols are researched, theoretically modeled, simulated, and evaluated through experiments. The project will thus make fundamental contributions to an emerging field of research that has largely untapped potential for realizing an essential, socially relevant, security-critical, and economic aspect of the digitization and smartification of our world.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants