The Wi-Fi-enabled ultra-low power communication system exhibits high asymmetry between uplink and downlink speeds. The uplink can reach up to 1 Mbps, while the downlink throughput is around 100 Kbps. In this paper, we present Wook, a novel high throughput downlink system to empower Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Wi-Fi devices to transmit high-speed OOK messages. The key innovation underpinning Wook is its ability to achieve sub-symbol level modulation, allowing a single OFDM symbol to carry multiple OOK bits. This is done by profoundly exploring the Wi-Fi PHY layer and identifying optimal input payload to achieve fine-grained Wi-Fi waveform manipulation. We fabricate a PCB prototype and employ the COTS Wi-Fi router to implement the entire system. Experimental results show that with a simulated IC power consumption 76.6μW, Wook achieves a data rate of up to 1.1 Mbps, an 8.9X improvement over state-of-the-art systems. Moreover, even at a communication distance of 95 m, Wook maintains a throughput of 82.9 Kbps.

Ambient IoT (A-IoT) aims to connect hundreds of billions of ultra-low-power and battery-free devices, which has been included in the agenda for 6G standardization by 3GPP. Backscatter communication is considered the mainstream enabling technique for A-IoT; however, current state-of-the-art can hardly meet A-IoT's main technical requirements simultaneously: power consumption below 100 μW, communication ranges up to 100 m, and 100+ concurrency. This paper presents NanoScatter, the first backscatter network with each tag implemented using our customized backscatter communication ASIC. We propose a nanowatt wake-up receiver design and a sensitivity-driven downlink/uplink modulation mechanism to carry out the ASIC, which enables minimizing the tag's power consumption and long-range communication. NanoScatter supports concurrent communication of 6 IC-based tags with a subcarrier capacity of 512, achieving communication distances of 66 m indoors and 100 m outdoors. The tag consumes 1 μW in idle listening, with the core circuit using 58 nW and 43 μW during communication.

Ambient IoT (A-IoT) targets battery-free, ultra-low-power connectivity for massive devices, which has been a key focus in 6G standardization by 3GPP. While backscatter communication enables A-IoT, existing solutions struggle to meet its core demands simultaneously: power consumption below 100 μW, communication ranges up to 100 m, and 100+ concurrency. In this demo, we present NanoScatter, the first backscatter network with each tag implemented using our customized backscatter communication ASIC. We propose a nanowatt wake-up receiver design and a sensitivity-driven downlink/uplink modulation mechanism to carry out the ASIC, which enables minimizing the tag's power consumption and long-range communication. NanoScatter supports concurrent communication of 6 IC-based tags with a subcarrier capacity of 512, achieving communication distances of 66 m indoors and 100 m outdoors. The tag consumes 1 μW in idle listening, with the core circuit using 58 nW and 43 μW during communication.