Spatio-Temporal Scheduling for Robust and Efficient Multi-Transmitter Wireless Power Transfer

Abstract

In multi-user wireless power transfer (WPT), scheduling schemes that determine the allocation of transmission resources among receivers play a crucial role in improving power transfer efficiency. Scheduling can be classified into time-division (TD) and space-division (SD) schemes, with the transmission order and direction designed to control when and to whom power is delivered. TD-WPT can exploit the nonlinear characteristics of rectennas by concentrating power in time; however, a system relying on highly directional transmission from a single location reduces robustness under time-varying channel conditions. This study investigated the effectiveness of spatio-temporal scheduling in coordinated multi-transmitter WPT systems. By employing multiple transmitters, the proposed method is robust against channel variations in delivering power. Moreover, coordinated beamforming among transmitters exploits inter-cluster interference. Simulation results demonstrate the potential of the proposed scheme for robust and efficient power supply, even under shadowing conditions.