3D Printed Objects that Connect to Wi-Fi without Electronics

[PeterT]

Original Article: Researchers 3D Print First Objects that Connect to Wi-Fi without Electronics

 

Quote

Researchers from the University of Washington have advanced civilization a few more years into the future by developing the first 3D printed plastic objects that are capable of collecting useful data and communicate that data to connected devices wirelessly without any electronics or batteries. What’s more, the researchers are making their CAD models available to the public, providing 3D printing enthusiasts the ability to create their own.

According to UW electrical engineering doctorate student Vikram Lyer, “Our goal was to create something that just comes out of your 3-D printer at home and can send useful information to other devices, but the big challenge is how do you communicate wirelessly with Wi-Fi using only plastic? That’s something that no one has been able to do before.”

To get the objects to communicate with each other, the researchers used 3D printed gears, springs and switches to translate motion into information that is transmitted over a 3D printed antenna and received by a wireless receiver. The key to getting these objects to communicate relies on backscatter techniques, more specifically ‘interscatter communication’, which allow electronic devices the ability to communicate by converting Bluetooth signals into Wi-Fi transmissions. Backscatter communications rely on electronics for wireless data transmissions, but in this case, the researchers replaced the electrical components with mechanical motion to perform the same function, similar to how battery-free watches keep time.

 

[NumLock21]

So it still needs a electronic to communicate.

[Thermosman]

3 minutes ago, NumLock21 said:

So it still needs a electronic to communicate.

Only on the recieving end, the 3D printed part only sends signals

For anybody confused what this is, watch this video:

 

[NumLock21]

5 minutes ago, Thermosman said:

Only on the recieving end, the 3D printed part only sends signals

For anybody confused what this is, watch this video:

 

There is still piece of electronic in it. No way plastic can communicate with electronics. The only way for plastics to communicate is somehow they made a new plastic that has electronic materials mixed in. Maybe in the future with nanotechnology or something.

[HarryNyquist]

TL;DR because it's confusing: The antenna picks up a Wifi signal, and the intermittently contacting switch (made with filament embedded with iron/copper) interferes with the signal in a specific way that can be interpreted by a receiver.

 

Seems interesting. I'm not sure what applications this has whatsoever.

[Thermosman]

13 minutes ago, NumLock21 said:

There is still piece of electronic in it. No way plastic can communicate with electronics. The only way for plastics to communicate is somehow they made a new plastic that has electronic materials mixed in. Maybe in the future with nanotechnology or something.

This explains it well

 

5 minutes ago, HarryNyquist said:

TL;DR because it's confusing: The antenna picks up a Wifi signal, and the intermittently contacting switch (made with filament embedded with iron/copper) interferes with the signal in a specific way that can be interpreted by a receiver.

 

Seems interesting. I'm not sure what applications this has whatsoever.

 

[NumLock21]

19 minutes ago, Thermosman said:

This explains it well

I understand clearly how that thing works, but to say "without electronics" is bs.

[Matu20]

Read tldr and still confused

[NumLock21]

Just now, Matu20 said:

Read tldr and still confused

There is a small electronic switch on the plastic piece that transmitted the signal to the receiver. The switch is made out of copper and iron. Both of these are not plastics.

[Matu20]

1 minute ago, NumLock21 said:

There is a small electronic switch on the plastic piece that transmitted the signal to the receiver. The switch is made out of copper and iron. Both of these are not plastics.

Oh, thank you, got it now.

[NumLock21]

For plastics to truly communicated through wifi or bluetooth without electronics is by motion sensing. Plastic moves and the movement is received by a sensor on the receiver, must like a ball mouse. The ball in the mouse turns the gears where the motion of the gears is picked up by the sensor and then interprets where your cursor needs to be on the screen, based on your hand movement.