Making Device Wireless

[alumurna_18]

I'm trying to make a device wireless but I don't want to add weight to the part of the device that collects the measurements. Is there any way to do that. Currently the part of the device that collects the measurements weighs about 4 grams.

 

[VEBill]

It would be extremely challenging, but you've not provided enough information to be more specific than that.

Presumably it's presently wired? How does the cable relate to the 4g weight?

What distance to span? Does it need a power source (battery), or can RFID technology provide power?

As a starting point, since perhaps you're in the field of bioengineering, can you point to an existing wireless sensor that meets your other system requirements, irrespective of the parameters that it is measuring?

 

[Comcokid]

Lots of ways to passively track things with low weight.
Individual bees are identified by pasting a miniature QR code like tags to them and using a camera system when they return to the hive. Hagfish are tracked by inserting them with a wire encoded magnetically with an ID. When they swim through a sensor the tag is read.

Here is a website I found while coming up with an answer to your post.

https://www.atstrack.com/animal-class/fish.aspx

 

[alumurna_18]

Currently the device is wired. We have an optode that is connected to the mouse's head and we have a signal acquisition module. The SAM is where the battery and all the important circuit information is stored. We want to make the optode as lightweight as possible since mice only weight about 20 grams.

 

[VEBill]

How about using an IR LED to transmit the data? I assume you're only going a meter or several meters. The signal acquisition board would be redesigned to A/D, buffer the data, build packets, and intermittently IR blast them out once or twice using a suitable format (with some error correction). No RF required. Any computer-oriented technician should be able to make it work.

If it's just a single analog parameter, then an analog and RF guru might be able to design a micro-power transmitter where the frequency of a subcarrier might be made proportional to the parameter. It'd be a scratch custom design.


Off hand, I can't think of any inexpensive off-the-shelf solutions. But they certainly may exist.

 

[Comcokid]

Is the data unidirectional or bidirectional?

Offhand I seem to recall a scientific article several years ago where they did an small solar cell and IR emitter in a single silicon die small enough to glue to a honey bee for tracking. Add a little to the die for modulating the signal based on an input. Beyond what I'm familiar with. Maybe something out there.