Past Vodcasts
The Vodcast Series explores the latest wireless power transfer innovations and challenges in the realm of wireless power. Explore our on-demand webinars to start learning.
Please check the playlist for all the past episodes on demand: Full Playlist: Wireless Watt – the Power Vodcast Series
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Episode 1: Energy Harvesting and Wireless Power Transfer Technologies for “Zero-Power” AI-enabled Ultrabroadband RF Modules for IoT, SmartAg, Industry 4.0 and Digital Twins Applications
Abstract: In this podcast, Prof. Tentzeris will touch up the state- of-the-art area of energy harvesting and wireless power transfer technologies for “zero-power” AI-enabled broadband wireless modules. He will discuss issues concerning the power sources of “near-perpetual” RF modules, including 5G-enabled wireless power grids as well as energy harvesting approaches involving thermal, EM, vibration and solar energy forms. The impact of novel disruptive enabling technologies such as Additive Manufacturing and Flexible Hybrid Electronics will be thoroughly discussed. The presentation will also involve examples from shape-changing 4D-printed (origami) packages, reflectarrays and mmW wearable (e.g. biomonitoring) antennas and RF modules. Special attention will be paid on the integration of ultrabroadband (Gb/sec) inkjet-printed nanotechnology-based backscattering communication modules, opto-RF modules as well as miniaturized printable wireless (e.g.CNT) sensors for Internet of Things (IoT), 5G and smart agriculture/biomonitoring applications. It has to be noted that the talk will review and present solutions for “5S Challenges” (Scalability, Sustainability, Speed, Security and Smartness) as well as future directions in the area of environmentally-friendly transient (“green”) RF electronics and “smart-skin’ conformal sensors as well as massively scalable “tile-by-tile” RFID-enabled autonomous reconfigurable intelligent surfaces.
Manos M. Tentzeris, Georgia Tech (Fellow IEEE) received the Diploma Degree in electrical and computer engineering from the National Technical University of Athens in Greece and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, in 1993 and 1998, respectively. He was a Visiting Professor with the Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany, in 2002; GTRI-Ireland, Athlone, Ireland, in 2009; and LAAS-CNRS, Toulouse, France, in 2010; and a Humboldt Guest Professor with FAU, Nuremberg, Germany, in 2019. He is currently the Ed and Pat Joy Chair Professor with the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA, where he heads the ATHENA Research Group (20 researchers). He has served as the Head of the GT ECE Electromagnetics Technical Interest Group, the Georgia Electronic Design Center Associate Director of RFID/sensors research, the Georgia Institute of Technology NSF-Packaging Research Center Associate Director of RF research, and the RF Alliance Leader. He has helped develop academic programs in 3-D/inkjet-printed RF electronics and modules, flexible electronics, origami and morphing electromagnetics, highly integrated/multilayer packaging for RF, millimeter-wave, sub-terahertz, and wireless applications using ceramic and organic flexible materials, paper-based RFID’s and sensors, wireless sensors and biosensors, wearable electronics, “Green” and transient electronics, energy harvesting and wireless power transfer, nanotechnology applications in RF, microwave MEMs, and SOP-integrated (UWB, multiband, mmW, and conformal) antennas. He has authored more than 850 papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings, seven books, and 26 book chapters. He has given more than 150 invited talks to various universities and companies all over the world.
Moderator: Alessandra Costanzo, University of Bologna, Italy
Alessandra Costanzo is Full Professor of Electromagnetic Fields at the University of Bologna, Campus of Cesena since September 2018. She carries out her research in the field of the CAD of RF and microwave circuits and systems such as : Multiple-input-Multiple Output (MIMO), UWB systems, radio frequency identification systems (RFID) and “rectenne” (multi-band rectifying antennas) for the collection of RF energy, specialized for wearable applications. This activity is carried out through the development of innovative project procedures based on the combination of electromagnetic theory, numerical simulation and nonlinear analysis based on the harmonic balancing method. She studies and develops systems for wireless power transmission (WPT) adopting both near-field and far-field techniques for different operating frequencies and different power levels. He has developed innovative solutions in the field of non-invasive structural monitoring, exploiting electromagnetic interference and reverse-modeling of antenna arrays
Episode 2: Power Over Metal: Unlocking NFC Charging Anywhere
Abstract: In this episode, we explore the cutting-edge world of wireless power, focusing on the growing impact of NFC charging technology. We dive into the challenges faced by NFC systems when operating in metallic environments—think charging your devices seamlessly on a metal desk or in a high-tech car interior.
You’ll hear about the fascinating science behind how energy is transferred wirelessly, the surprising ways metals can interfere with efficiency, and the innovative solutions engineers are developing to tackle these issues. From using ferrite materials and booster antennas to fine-tuning adaptive matching networks, we’ll discuss how these breakthroughs are shaping the future of robust and reliable NFC charging. We’ll also share real-world prototypes and performance insights, giving you a glimpse of what’s already possible today. Finally, we look ahead to how sustainability and integration into everyday products could make NFC charging a staple of modern life. If you’ve ever wondered what’s powering the wireless revolution, this is the episode for you!
Guest Speaker:
Jasmin Grosinger is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Microwave and Photonic Engineering at Graz University of Technology in Austria, where her research focuses on sustainable wireless electronics and systems. She also holds a position as a Visiting Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Engineering at Tohoku University, Japan. A Senior Member of IEEE, Jasmin has co-authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and invention disclosures. For her PhD work, she received the first prize from the Industrial Union of the Austrian Automotive Industry’s Jubilee Foundation. In 2021, she was honored with the Mind the Gap—Diversity Award from Graz University of Technology. From 2019 to 2024, she served as Associate Editor for IEEE Microwave and Technology Letters, and is currently the inaugural Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Journal on Wireless Power Technologies. Jasmin is an active member of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society (MTT-S), where she contributes to Technical Committees 25 (Wireless Power Transfer and Energy Conversion) and 26 (RFID, Wireless Sensors, and IoT). Recognized as a Distinguished Microwave Lecturer by MTT-S, she is also an Elected Voting Member of its Administrative Committee, chairing the Meetings and Symposia Committee since 2024.
Moderator: Nuno Carvalho, University of Aveiro, IT, Portugal
Nuno Borges Carvalho (S’97–M’00–SM’05-F’15) was born in Luanda, Angola, in 1972. He received his Diploma and Doctoral degrees in electronics and telecommunications engineering from the University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal, in 1995 and 2000, respectively. He is a Full Professor and a Senior Research Scientist with the Institute of Telecommunications, University of Aveiro. He is the director of the Department of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics at UA, and an IEEE Fellow. He coauthored Intermodulation in Microwave and Wireless Circuits (Artech House, 2003), Microwave and Wireless Measurement Techniques (Cambridge University Press, 2013), White Space Communication Technologies (Cambridge University Press, 2014) and Wireless Power Transmission for Sustainable Electronics (Wiley, 2020). He has been a reviewer and author of over 400 papers in magazines and conferences. He is the Editor in Chief of the Cambridge Wireless Power Transfer Journal, an associate editor of the IEEE Microwave Magazine, and former associate editor of the IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques and IET Microwaves Antennas and Propagation Journal. He is the co-inventor of six patents. His main research interests include software-defined radio front-ends, backscatter communications, wireless power transmission, nonlinear distortion analysis, and measurements in microwave/wireless circuits and systems. He has been involved in the design of dedicated radios and systems for newly emerging wireless technologies. Dr. Borges Carvalho is a member of the IEEE MTT ADCOM, the past chair of the IEEE Portuguese Section, TC-20 and TC-11, and belongs to the technical committees, TC-25 and TC-26. He is also the Chair of the URSI Commission A (Metrology Group). He was the recipient of the 1995 University of Aveiro and the Portuguese Engineering Association Prize for the best 1995 student at the University of Aveiro, the 1998 Student Paper Competition (Third Place) of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (IEEE MTT-S) International Microwave Symposium (IMS), and the 2000 IEE Measurement Prize. He is a Distinguished Lecturer for the RFID Council and was a previous Distinguished Microwave Lecturer for the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society. In 2023, he is the IEEE-MTT President.
Episode 3: Leading wireless charging developments at the University of Auckland
Abstract: Research at the University of Auckland has, over the past three decades, pioneered and led the global development of many wireless power applications that are becoming commonplace in industry and the home. This work began in the 1990s with roadway and tunnel lighting and monorail systems that with industry partners helped produce revolutionary powered systems in materials handling and clean room industries. Following early successes, new research in the 2000’s focused on powering industrial automatic guided vehicles and wireless charging systems for electric vehicles.
Solutions were also developed for personal devices such as cell phones, tablets, medical applications etc. Today the research continues to lead global efforts, focused on higher power for both stationary charging and dynamic (on the move) power transfer solutions, that need to work together to support the electrification of modern transport systems. This talk begins by reflecting on the early work and challenges undertaken with various industries that helped pave the way for these solutions. Including how we are addressing the requirement for cost effective, standardized systems to create a truly electrified interoperable transport fleet.
Guest Speaker:
Grant Covic is a full Professor within the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Software Engineering Department at the University of Auckland. He was a co-founder of “HaloIPT” that focused on electric vehicle (EV) wireless charging infrastructure. Before it was on-sold, HaloIPT received the Clean Equity Monaco award for excellence in the field of environmental engineering and two NZ clean innovation awards in the emerging innovator and design and engineering categories. He has been awarded the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Science Prize, the Vice Chancellors commercialisation medal and the KiwiNet research commercialisation awards for his research, and in 2021 the IEEE Power electronics emerging technology award. He is a Fellow of both Engineering NZ and the Royal Society of NZ. His research and consulting interests include power electronics and resonant inductive power transfer (IPT) from which he has published more than 200 papers in IEEE journals and conferences. He holds more than 50 patent families licensed to industry for specialized IPT application areas. Presently he directs a government funded research program on stationary and dynamic wireless charging of EVs, while also co-leading the interoperability sub-team within the SAE J2954 wireless charging standard.
Moderator: Alessandra Costanzo, University of Bologna, Italy
Episode 4: Magnetic Resonant Wireless Power Transfer: Solutions to the Problems and the Future
Abstract: It has been more than 15 years since magnetic resonant wireless power transfer technology gained attention as a promising wireless solution. Today, wireless charging of smartphones is widespread, and wireless charging of electric vehicles is expected to be commercialized by major automotive companies in the near future.However, several challenges remain before the large-scale deployment of wireless EV charging, including cost, charging power, electromagnetic safety, and weight.
This talk will explore the history, technology, challenges, and future directions of magnetic resonant WPT. Particular focus will be given to EMI/EMF issues in high-power systems, along with examples of possible solutions.
Guest Speaker:
Ahn Seungyoung received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, South Korea, in 1998, 2000, and 2005, respectively, in electrical engineering. From 2005 to 2009, he was a Senior Engineer with Samsung Electronics, Suwon, South Korea, where he was the in charge of high-speed board design for laptop computer systems. He is currently a Professor with the CCS Graduate School of Mobility, KAIST, Daejeon. He has been working in the area of wireless power transfer system, electromagnetic compatibility design for electric vehicle and high-performance digital systems publishing 300+ international conference and journal papers. He was the recipient of several awards including Technical Achievement Award 2024 and Motohisa Kanda Award 2021 in IEEE EMC society.
Moderator: Alessandra Costanzo, University of Bologna, Italy
Episode 5: Filling in the missing link in Radio Wave Technologies – Wireless Power and Wireless Applications, Inductive WPT and Radiative WPT, mW Wide Beam WPT and GW Narrow Beam WPT
Abstract: In this podcast, Prof.Naoki Shinohara touched up on the information transmission on the radio wave for wireless communication and transmit power for wireless power transfer (WPT). You may consider that they are different technologies, but there is no difference between the two radio wave applications. We use the same Maxwell’s equations and circuit technology. The difference is only a viewpoint on the technology. It’s the same story on the difference between the Inductive WPT and Radiative WPT, mW Wide Beam WPT and GW Narrow Beam WPT, even in the same WPT technology. Prof. Naoki’s dream is to realize a common and seamless application of the radio waves, information, power, coupling WPT, weak power wide beam WPT, and high power narrow beam WPT in the future.
Guest Speaker: Naoki SHINOHARA, Professor, Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere (RISH), Kyoto University, Uji 611-0011, Japan
Naoki Shinohara (Senior Member, IEEE) received the B.E. degree in electronic engineering, and the M.E. and Ph.D. (Eng.) degrees in electrical engineering from Kyoto University, Uji, Japan, in 1991, 1993, and 1996, respectively.,Since 1996, he has been a Research Associate with the Radio Atmospheric Science Center, Kyoto University, where he has been a Research Associate with the Radio Science Center for Space and Atmosphere, by recognizing the Radio Atmospheric Science Center, since 2000, and he has been an Associate Professor since 2001. He has been an Associate Professor with the Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University, by recognizing the Radio Science Center for Space and Atmosphere since 2004
Moderator: Nuno Carvalho, University of Aveiro, IT, Portugal
Episode 6: Near Field Communications and Wireless Power Transfer in Medical Devices
Abstract: Wireless electronic/optoelectronic technologies designed to allow stable, intimate integration with living organisms will accelerate progress in biomedical research; they will also serve as the foundations for new approaches in monitoring and treating diseases. Specifically, capabilities for injecting miniaturized, biocompatible electronic systems and other components into soft tissues or for softly laminating them onto the surfaces of vital organs will open up unique and important opportunities in tracking and manipulating biological activity. This presentation describes the core concepts in chemical and biological engineering, materials science and system design that underpin these types of technologies, with an emphasis on those that operate based on wireless power transfer, including bioresorbable, or ‘transient’, devices engineered to disappear into the body on timescales matched to natural processes. Examples range from skin-interfaced devices for health monitoring to implantable optoelectronics for small animal model studies in neuroscience to bioelectronic ‘medicines’ for neuroregeneration and temporary cardiac pacing.
Guest Speaker: Professor John A. Rogers, Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts
Professor John A. Rogers obtained BA and BS degrees in chemistry and in physics from the University of Texas, Austin, in 1989. From MIT, he received SM degrees in physics and in chemistry in 1992 and a PhD degree in physical chemistry in 1995. From 1995 to 1997, Rogers was a Junior Fellow in the Harvard University Society of Fellows. He joined Bell Laboratories as a Member of Technical Staff in 1997 and then served as Director of the Condensed Matter Physics Research Department from the end of 2000 to 2002. He then spent thirteen years on the faculty at the University of Illinois, most recently as the Swanlund Chair Professor and Director of the Seitz Materials Research Laboratory. In 2016, he moved to Northwestern University where he is Director of the Querrey-Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics. He has co-authored nearly 1000 papers and he is co-inventor on more than 100 patents, more than 70 or which are licensed to large companies or to startups that have emerged from his labs. More than 150 of the former students and postdoctoral fellows in his group are currently in faculty positions at universities around the world. His research has been recognized by many awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship (2009), the Lemelson-MIT Prize (2011), the Smithsonian Award for American Ingenuity in the Physical Sciences (2013), the MRS Medal (2018), the Benjamin Franklin Medal from the Franklin Institute (2019), a Guggenheim Fellowship (2021), the James Prize for Science and Technology Integration from the NAS (2022) and the IEEE Biomedical Engineering Award (2024). He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Inventors, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Royal Society.
Moderator: Alessandra Costanzo, University of Bologna, Italy