English

Ambient Backscatter Communications: A Contemporary Survey

Networking and Internet Architecture 2017-12-14 v1

Abstract

Recently, ambient backscatter communications has been introduced as a cutting-edge technology which enables smart devices to communicate by utilizing ambient radio frequency (RF) signals without requiring active RF transmission. This technology is especially effective in addressing communication and energy efficiency problems for low-power communications systems such as sensor networks. It is expected to realize numerous Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications. Therefore, this paper aims to provide a contemporary and comprehensive literature review on fundamentals, applications, challenges, and research efforts/progress of ambient backscatter communications. In particular, we first present fundamentals of backscatter communications and briefly review bistatic backscatter communications systems. Then, the general architecture, advantages, and solutions to address existing issues and limitations of ambient backscatter communications systems are discussed. Additionally, emerging applications of ambient backscatter communications are highlighted. Finally, we outline some open issues and future research directions.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1712.04804,
  title  = {Ambient Backscatter Communications: A Contemporary Survey},
  author = {Nguyen Van Huynh and Dinh Thai Hoang and Xiao Lu and Dusit Niyato and Ping Wang and Dong In Kim},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1712.04804},
  year   = {2017}
}

Comments

32 pages, 18 figures, journal

R2 v1 2026-06-22T23:16:58.522Z