A bio-inspired microwave wireless system for constituting passive and maintenance-free IoT networks.

With the rapid expansion of wireless networks, the deployment and long-term maintenance of distributed microwave terminals have become increasingly challenging. To address these issues, we present a bio-inspired microwave system to constitute passive and maintenance-free wireless networks. Drawing inspiration from vertebrate skeletons and skins, we employ stimuli-responsive polymer with tunable stiffness to support and protect sensitive electromagnetic structures, and synthesize self-healable skin-like polymer for system encapsulation. Owing to the biomimetic strategy, our system combines outstanding flexibility, electromagnetic stability, structural robustness, and self-healable performance. On the other hand, to address power supply issues, our system modulates ambient electromagnetic waves to achieve long-range wireless communication, and the hybrid energy harvesting strategy allows the system to capture energy from ambient light and microwaves, thereby eliminating the need for batteries or power cables. Multidisciplinary innovation enables our system to be deployed almost anywhere and supports stable, battery-less, and maintenance-free wireless communication.