Internet of Harvester Nano Things: A Future Prospects

Abstract

The advancements in nanotechnology, material science, and electrical engineering have shrunk the sizes of electronic devices down to the micro/nanoscale. This brings the opportunity of developing the Internet of Nano Things (IoNT), an extension of the Internet of Things (IoT). With nanodevices, numerous new possibilities emerge in the biomedical, military fields, and industrial products. However, a continuous energy supply is mandatory for these devices to work. At the micro/nanoscale, batteries cannot supply this demand due to size limitations and the limited energy contained in the batteries. Internet of Harvester Nano Things (IoHNT), a concept of Energy Harvesting (EH) integrated with wireless power transmission (WPT) techniques, converts the existing different energy sources into electrical energy and transmits to IoNT nodes. As IoHNTs are not directly attached to IoNTs, it gives flexibility in size. However, we define the size of IoHNTs as up to 10 cm. In this review, we comprehensively investigate the available energy sources and EH principles to wirelessly power IoNTs. We discuss the IoHNT principles, material selections, and state-of-the-art applications of each energy source for different sectoral applications. The different technologies of WPT and how communication is influenced by the incorporation of IoHNTs to power IoNTs are discussed with the future research directions. IoHNTs represent a shift in the nanodevice power supply, leading us towards a future where wireless technology is widespread. Hence, it will motivate researchers to envision and contribute to advancing the following power revolution in IoNT, providing unmatched simplicity and efficiency.