Toward Self-Powered Internet of Underwater Things Devices

Exploiting light beams to carry information and deliver power is suggested as a potential technology to recharge batteries in future generations of IoT and IoUT devices while providing optical connectivity. SLIPT has been recently proposed as an efficient method of wireless power transfer between communicating terminals. In this article, we provide an overview of the various SLIPT techniques in the time, power, and space domains. We also demonstrate two SLIPT scenarios through underwater channels, and we discuss the issues related to the hardware as well as system deployment in harsh environments.