Symbiotic Radio Communications for Internet of Things

Symbiotic radio communications represent an emerging paradigm in which passive Internet-of-Things devices coexist with active radio systems through mutual sharing of spectrum, power and infrastructure. In this model, primary transmitters provide ambient signals that are re-used by backscatter devices to convey their own information without dedicated radio resources or batteries. In return, the reflected transmissions introduce beneficial multipath diversity that can enhance the reliability and energy efficiency of the primary link. By integrating techniques such as joint decoding, non-orthogonal multiple access and full-duplex operation, symbiotic radio can support massive device connectivity, ultra-low power consumption and ultra-reliable low-latency communications, making it a key enabler for future 6G-era IoT applications. Practical deployments range from smart city sensors and environmental monitors to asset tracking in logistics and wearables, all of which benefit from batteryless operation and minimal infrastructure augmentation. Current research focuses on optimising resource allocation, improving spectral efficiency and addressing challenges in harmonising heterogeneous device requirements within a shared radio ecosystem.

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Symbiotic Radio Communications for Internet of Things publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in symbiotic radio communications for internet of things across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Symbiotic radio (SR): A communication paradigm in which passive backscatter devices share spectrum and power with active radios, forming mutually beneficial links.

Ambient backscatter communication (AmBC): A technique whereby passive devices modulate and reflect existing ambient signals to transmit data without an internal power source.

Joint decoding: A receiver technique that simultaneously decodes signals from primary and backscatter sources to exploit multipath diversity and improve reliability.

Non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA): A spectrum-sharing method allowing multiple users to transmit on the same frequency band distinguished by power levels and successive interference cancellation.

Short-packet communication (SPC): Transmission of data in very small frame sizes to meet stringent latency and reliability requirements in ultra-reliable low-latency IoT applications.

References

1. Symbiotic Radio: Cognitive Backscattering Communications for Future Wireless Networks. IEEE Transactions on Cognitive Communications and Networking (2020).
2. Resource Allocation in NOMA-Enhanced Full-Duplex Symbiotic Radio Networks. IEEE Access (2020).
3. A Survey of Symbiotic Radio: Methodologies, Applications, and Future Directions. Sensors (2023).
4. Analysis of symbiotic backscatter empowered wireless sensors network with short-packet communications. PLOS ONE (2024).