Distributed beamforming with one-bit feedback and clustering for multi-node wireless energy transfer

To resolve energy depletion issues in massive Internet of Things sensor networks, we developed a set of distributed energy beamforming methods with one-bit feedback and clustering for multi-node wireless energy transfer, where multiple single-antenna distributed energy transmitters (Txs) transfer their energy to multiple nodes wirelessly. Unlike previous works focusing on distributed information beamforming using a single energy receiver (Rx) node, we developed a distributed energy beamforming method for multiple Rx nodes. Additionally, we propose two clustering methods in which each Tx node chooses a suitable Rx node. Furthermore, we propose a fast distributed beamforming method based on Tx sub-clustering. Through computer simulations, we demonstrate that the proposed distributed beamforming method makes it possible to transfer wireless energy to massive numbers of sensors effectively and rapidly with small implementation complexity. We also analyze the energy harvesting outage probability of the proposed beamforming method, which provides insights into the design of wireless energy transfer networks with distributed beamforming.