Wireless Information and Power Transfer for Future Communication Networks

Wireless power transfer (WPT) has emerged as a promising technology for future communication systems, particularly in the context of the extensive connectivity of heterogeneous, ultra-low-power devices within the Internet of Things (IoT) and Internet of Everything (IoE). A significant challenge these systems face is ensuring the energy sustainability of these devices. Conventional solutions, such as frequent battery replacement or energy harvesting from natural sources, are often unreliable, costly, or infeasible in many cases. WPT addresses this issue by enabling devices to harvest energy from dedicated or ambient electromagnetic radiation sources, ensuring a continuous power supply. The integration of WPT technology into communication networks introduces a fundamental co-existence of information and energy flows. Specifically, within this framework, radio frequency signals are used to simultaneously transmit both information and energy, giving rise to a communication paradigm known as simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT). SWIPT necessitates the efficient co-design of both information and power transfer to balance the dual demands of energy sustainability and data communication.



The primary goal of this Research Topic is to present cutting-edge advancements in WPT/SWIPT technology and emphasize its advantages from its integration in future wireless communication systems. The widespread adoption of IoT/IoE will lead to the large-scale deployment of low-power devices and an overwhelming volume of information exchange. This makes it increasingly impractical—if not impossible—to individually recharge or manage these devices on a regular basis. In this context, SWIPT offers a powerful solution by co-engineering information and energy signals. It ensures continuous, fully-controlled energy harvesting while simultaneously enabling communication connectivity. This eliminates the need for frequent battery replacements or wired recharging, preventing disruptions to critical services such as healthcare, finance, and public safety due to depleted batteries. As IoT/IoE transceivers continue to shrink in size and improve in energy efficiency, we foresee a future where radio waves not only serve as a primary energy source for powering devices but also seamlessly integrate information and energy transmission.



All type of manuscripts are welcome for submission, including original research articles and comprehensive review and survey papers. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:



- Waveform and rectenna design

- Machine learning techniques for WPT/SWIPT

- WPT/SWIPT with Massive MIMO or reconfigurable intelligent surfaces

- Performance analysis and optimization of wireless powered communication systems

- WPT/SWIPT for millimeter-wave and terahertz communications

- Near-field WPT/SWIPT

- WPT/SWIPT with fluid, movable, and pinching antennas

- Detection and coding schemes for low-power devices

- Emerging applications of WPT/SWIPT

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Original Research
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Wireless power transfer, simultaneous wireless information and power transfer, low-power communications, RF energy harvesting, rectenna design

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.