Radio Wave Energy Harvesting Model of a Maritime Automatic Identification System

Abstract

Radio waves, the spectrum of the electromagnetic waves, are all around us and in most cases have only one purpose. The maritime Automatic Identification System (AIS) uses Very High Frequency (VHF) radio waves for the purpose of data exchange between ships and shore stations. These data exchanges take place during certain time intervals, resulting in intermittent emission of electromagnetic waves. In the research presented in this paper, the objective was to add a new purpose for the AIS electromagnetic waves, i.e. to act as a power source for the RF energy harvester. After collecting the electromagnetic waves of the AIS system, the signals’ voltage is rectified, amplified and delivered to the load. In this paper, the process of radio wave energy harvesting is simulated in the Multisim software and analyzed in detail. The results of the analysis showed a multiple increase in the voltage value at the output of the RF energy harvester.