That's the same idea how passive NFC works.

In the late 1970s, there were ham radio enthusiasts playing with 10 GHz retro-reflection modulation. The signal would hit a reflector and then get modulated with a 30 MHz carrier. With small dish antennas, this system worked over distances measured in kilometers. Yes, the retro-reflector carrier could have been modulated with all sorts of information. I had thought it might be neat to develop cheap telemetry sensors with this, but I never followed up on it.

So a resonant retro-reflector for, say, 122.5 GHz could be modulated with data speeds greater than what we're doing with 802.11n and it would work quite well. The downside is that the transmitter from the base would have to be remain just as powerful as before, and it would have to poll for new members because they wouldn't be able to transmit by themselves. Oh, and it might not go through walls as well as current WiFi standards.

Nevertheless, this is quite creative. I'm impressed.

Aside from saving battery life on today's devices, wireless communication that uses almost no power will help enable an "Internet of Things" reality where household devices and wearable sensors can communicate using Wi-Fi without worrying about power.

As I see it, what is going to enable the "Internet of Things" is companies making such products that actually implement reasonable security measures. Right now, there is a complete lack of security in the "Internet of Things" devices. Even if I were interested in the "Internet of Things" devices, I would not purchase any if it did not have decent security. Right now, the "Internet of Things" seems to be a buzzword for journalists trying to attract reads.

Just the other day, I was at my car dealer getting my car serviced. There were two devices on their Wi-Fi network advertising themselves as "Thermostats." Both of them advertised themselves as unsecured for a Wi-Fi connection. Go figure!!

BTW, a long time ago, around 1970, I worked in Thailand on Space diversity microwave communications link, where they used two 5 GHz antennas side by side separated by about 30 feet and both fed a 1000 watt signal, communicated with another unit just like it but 150 Km apart.

Was logistics management for S korea MW communications backbone in 1974,75 Mountaintop to mountain top, Busan to Seoul and all points in between. Max I remember was about 40 miles... Did a lot of helicopter rides...;-)

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