Wireless-Powered Interference Networks: Applications, Approaches, and Challenges

Interference is usually regarded as a detrimental factor that must be avoided or suppressed to achieve higher performance in traditional wireless communications. Wireless energy harvesting (EH) technologies have been found to be capable of converting such harmful interference into a feasible energy source for low-powered Internet of Things (IoT) devices that otherwise have limited lifetimes. In this context, we introduce a wireless-powered interference network (WPIN) in which interference is proactively controlled, considering the two opposing concepts of signal jammers and energy sources to improve the bidirectional transmission rate of IoT devices. First, an overview of WPIN applications is provided in various wireless topologies with complex cochannel interference. Then, a wireless interference harvesting protocol is presented to manage this cochannel interference for bidirectional communications in WPINs. We investigate coordinated resource management and beamforming schemes based on this interference harvesting protocol and demonstrate how these schemes improve the performance of WPINs. Simulation results show that the proper utilization of interference according to the channel structure decreases interference's negative effects on information decoding and increases the amount of harvested energy, thereby simultaneously improving the downlink and uplink capacities. Finally, imminent research challenges and directions with regard to making WPINs more practical and useful are outlined.