MIT developing light-powered RFID tags for the internet of things

Engineers at MIT are developing a way to turn the humble RFID tag into a light-powered sensor for the internet of things. Based on thin-film perovskite cells, the goal is to create inexpensive, internet-connected sensors that can operate without batteries or other outside power sources for months or even years. According to MIT, experts predict internet of things devices will number in the neighborhood of 75 billion by the year 2025. Whether this turns out to be a good thing or not, it does mean that there will be a lot of sensors and other data-gathering devices that will need a lot of energy to keep working.