Optimizing Sensors Placement and Wireless Power Transfer in Harsh Electromagnetic Environments

In numerous industrial settings, with a particular focus on automotive sector, there is a growing demand for functionalities, such as remote monitoring and component diagnosis, facilitated by wireless sensor networks. Powering sensors by wireless power transfer represents a challenging task in environments which are complex from an electromagnetic point of view. This work proposes an analysis of factors impacting the power distribution in such harsh electromagnetic environments, characterized by intricate scattering phenomena. Results are presented for radiofrequency sources operating at frequencies commonly utilized in communication and sensing applications —namely 868 MHz, 2.45 GHz, and 5.8 GHz— in the context of an automotive scenario. Additionally, this work aims to offer insights into the optimal sensors and sources positioning to ensure wireless energy provision for effective monitoring in industrial internet of things applications.