Sensor Systems Laboratory

Recent Press

"UW and Amazon announce creation of the Science Hub", UW NEWS, 2022

"World’s lowest power wireless chip’: UW spinout Jeeva unveils new sensor data streaming tech", GeekWire, 2021

"WiBotic wins European seals of approval for its wireless robot charging systems", GeekWire, 2021

Press Archive

Wall Street Journal, 1/17/2025, How a Little-Known Finnish Company Became One of the World’s Hottest Gadget Startups (quoted in story on smart rings)

IEEE Spectrum, 3/18/2021, Foam Sword Fencing With a PR2 Is the Best Kind of Exercise:

Adversarial robots could help humans exercise more effectively

Wall Street Journal, 10/3/2020, Your Thumbs are All You Need (quoted in story on Battery-Free perpetual Computers)

Technology Review, 7/29/2016, First Wi-Fi-Enabled Smart Contact Lens Prototype

Wired, 3/5/16, The Future of Wi-Fi Is 10,000 Times More Energy Efficient

Economist, 3/5/16, Passive Voice: Redesigning Wi-Fi may let devices communicate more easily

MIT Technology Review, 2/24/2016, 10 Breakthrough Technologies 2016, Power from the Air

Popular Science, 11/18/15, Best of What’s New 2015, A Camera Powered by Wi-Fi

BBC Radio, 9/16/15, UW robotics researchers Dieter Fox, Joshua Smith and Maya Cakmak discuss the future of robotics, AI and teaching a robot how to solve a Rubik's Cube (story begins at 23:46 mark)

Economist, 6/27/15, Wireless Charging: Coiled and ready to strike

Wired, 6/7/15, Wi-Fi that charges your gadgets is closer than you think

BBC News, 6/5/15, Power beamed to camera via ambient wi-fi signals

Technology Review, 6/3/15, First Demonstration of a Surveillance Camera Powered by Ordinary Wi-Fi Broadcasts

Foreign Policy, 5/20/15, Innovations: Are Potholes a Thing of the Past?

New York Times, 2/2/14, Building a Better Battery

Time, 8/15/13, From the Future: Wireless Devices that Don’t Require Batteries

NBC News, 8/13/13, No batteries! Wireless tech recycles airborne radio waves

The Register (UK), 8/14/13, Boffins harvest TV, mobile signals for BATTERY-FREE comms

PRESS THROUGH JULY 2013:

Ambient backscatter: Free energy harvesting from TV signals, to power a ubiquitous internet of things Extreme Tech, July 2013.

The Computing Trend that Will Change Everything Technology Review, April 2012.

What innovations are possible with ultra-efficient sensors? GreenBiz, March 2012.

Is There a Moore’s Law for Energy Efficiency? IEEE Spectrum, March 2012.

A Heart Pump Without a Cord, Technology Review, July 2011.

A Wireless Heart, The Economist, April 2011.

Artificial Heart Goes Wireless — and Gets Safer, MSNBC, July 2011. 

Wireless power cuts cord for heart pump patients, TG Daily, July 2011. 

Bye-Bye Batteries: Radio Waves as a Low-Power Source, The New York Times, June 18, 2010. 

Power From Thin Air, The Economist, June 10, 2010. 

Smart Dust? Not Quite, But We're Getting There, New York Times, Jan 30, 2010. 

Meet Marvin, The Robot that Can Plug Itself In, The Times (UK), Jan 25, 2010.

Launching CeBIT with Intel's robot, Marvin Craig Barrett, Gov Schwarzenegger, and Chancellor Merkel. 

Intel ad: "Josh Smith" (played by an actor) 'Shaking hands with a robot'.

Intel ad: "Josh Smith" (played by Chinese actor)'pulls electricity from atmosphere'.  

Intel Aims to Capture Wild Electricity, Seattle Times, June 15 2009. 

Intel Plucks Power from TV Signals (At last, a use for Paris Hilton's British Best Friend), The Register, 2009.

Intel Moves to Free Gadgets of Their Recharging Cords, New York Times, August, 2008. 

Robots That Sense Before They Touch, Technology Review, 2007. Click here for video. 

Sensors Without Batteries, Technology Review.

Living Off Scraps of Energy, CNET News.