Jun 2023 - Present
RF energy harvesting rectenna
A rectenna cell that ties in series or parallel, so ambient RF can be harvested off whichever antenna you connect.
- RF design
- Energy harvesting
- PCB design
- SPICE
Projects Smart beehive
Smart beehive
Remote monitoring for a live hive, built so the instrumentation never disturbs the colony.
- When
- Aug 2020 - Dec 2020
- Context
- The University of Texas at Dallas
- Built with
- I2C, Raspberry Pi, Low-energy wireless
Problem
Checking a hive means opening it, which stresses the colony. The measurements that matter, temperature, humidity, weight, and external pressure, are exactly the ones disturbed by opening the lid.
Approach
Designed, programmed, and prototyped a system that reads all four over I2C and reports them remotely. Bees are sensitive to interference, so the radio side was built around low-energy wireless interfaces and split across several Raspberry Pi modules to hold both the power draw and the disturbance down.
Outcome
A keeper can read the condition of a hive without opening it.