Amazon backs battery-free IoT startup
Wiliot is developing Bluetooth beacons and IoT circuits that can be embedded in printable films and powered by ambient RF. Following successful tests of its technology, Wiliot has closed a Series B round of funding with the investment arm of Amazon Web Services (AWS), Samsung Venture Investment Corp. and Avery Dennison Corp., a global provider of pressure-sensitive adhesive films.
These organizations have joined previous investors Norwest Venture Partners, 83North, Grove Venture Partners, Qualcomm Ventures, and M Ventures to raise an additional $30 million of funding.
“We believe that disposable electronics based on battery-free, low-cost systems are the foundation for future IoT systems. We are on the edge of dramatically changing the way products are made, how they are distributed, where and when they are sold, and how they are used and recycled,” said Tal Tamir, Wiliot CEO and co-founder, in a statement.
“Recycling the radiation around us to power sticker-size sensors can enable new ways for consumers to interact with products that were previously not feasible. Products can share when they are picked up, their temperature, or when they need to be replenished. Without batteries or other high-cost components, tags have unlimited power and lifespan, so can be embedded inside of products that were previously unconnected to the Internet of Things.”
Next: Applications; clothes that tell washing machines
Among the applications being pursued by Wiliot are Bluetooth tags that can be embedded in consumer goods during production and track goods through the supply chain and on to the end consumer all the time providing useful information.
Similarly, Wiliot transponders could be used to unlock product engagement with product information on tags or in consumers’ smartphones, tablets and computers.
Wiliot transponders could also be used to communicate instructions on how to use products and remainders of when to use them, and Wiliot-enabled containers could automatically reorder themselves for refill when empty.
Valuable products could tracked if they are lost or stolen and clothing with Wiliot tags could communicate with washing machines to ensure whites never turn pink.
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