2017 3rd International Conference on Science and Technology - Computer (ICST)
The Wireless Energy Transfer Recharging System
Based on The Ultra-High Frequency by Using Yagi-
Uda Directional Antenna
Sunarno1*, Fahmy Rinanda Saputri2, Memory Motivanisman Waruwu3, Rony Wijaya4
1,2,3
Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering
Physics, Universitas Gadjah Mada,
Jl. Grafika 2, Sleman, D.I. Yogyakarta, Indonesia
1
sunarno@ugm.ac.id
2 4
fahmyrs@yahoo.com
3
morymw@gmail.com
Abstract—In the near future, the Wireless Energy Transfer
(WET) will be widely used, especially for electronics recharging in
the human organ implantations. WET has been researched
intensively by some researchers, but the low efficient energy
transfer is still a problem. In order to figure out the efficiency of
the energy transfer, the experiment had been conducted in
Laboratory of Sensor and Telecontrol Systems. The complexities
of the measurement system setup and assessment of the sufficient
energy both transmitter and receiver will also be discussed. The
experiment results deliver the new design of the WET, empiric
data of the energy transfer, and the sufficient antenna model as
well. In this research, The UHF transmitter generated radio
frequency with output energy of 39.00-watt energy source. The
range of various frequencies in this paper is 400 MHz to 489 MHz
and the SWR is 1.2. The transmitter unit and the antenna were
connected with the 50 ohm-coaxial cable. In order to transfer the
energy, the transmitter system consisting Yagi-Uda model
antenna was applied. The results show that the efficiency
maximum of the measured energy transfer is 0.36%. In our
investigations, the efficiency of the result also depends on the
polarity of the Yagi-Uda Antenna used in the experiment.
According to the results, the angle that the maximum energy
transferred is 60°, on the contrary, the angle of 150° gives the
lowest efficiency results. We found that the distance between the
transmitter and receiver antenna contribute significantly to the
amount of energy transferred from the system. In this case, the
energy can be calculated from the current and voltage
measurement. The energy transfer versus distance relationship
shows that a specific trend was obtained. This specific trend seems
are affected by the antenna characters used in the experiment.
Based on the experiment results, the wireless energy transfer
could be done by utilizing UHF radio wave. Even though the
efficiencies were still relatively low, but it can be used for some
specific purposes in the example, in the electronic human organ
implant recharging and applicable for the general electronic
devices in the special areas. This experiment data are very useful
for the scientists, practicing who work in the WET research field.
Keywords— wireless energy transfer; ultra-high frequency;
electronic human organ implant; radio transmitter; antenna
978-1-5386-1874-5/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE
4
Production House Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas
Gadjah Mada,
Jl. Farmako No. 2 Sekip Utara, Sleman, D.I. Yogyakarta,
Indonesia
rwijaya80@gmail.com
I. INTRODUCTION
In recent years, Wireless Energy Transfer (WET) has been
researched. A wet system has more advantage than transferring
energy using wires, like flexibility and enjoyable. Utilizing
WET system for transferring energy will not be dependent with
limited wires. A wet system is a promising technology that
could be applied in many fields, such as instrumentation,
medical, also in communication. In addition, WET could be
used in an extreme location like in nuclear radiation field and
the human body as an implant. Although experimenting about
energy transfer based on wireless is widely done, but the low
efficient energy is still a problem.
Sunarno’s experiment has been successful to transfer energy
using the microwave (MW) in ultra-high frequency [1]. Thus,
Wenzheng Xu, et. al have been proven that WET method could
be used for smartphones battery charging [2]. Moreover, the
experiment on wireless energy transfer has been popular in
many fields, such as for the utilization of biomedical devices
[3]-[8], smartphone battery charging [2], vehicle charging [9],
and wireless communication [10], [11].
In this research, we consider using the Ultra High Frequency
(UHF) band for energy transfer. The Yagi-Uda antenna as a
one-direction transmitter. The receiver unit is the antenna with
the electronic circuit that able to accept energy from the
transmitter unit. Position and distance of the antenna have been
measured and analyzed in this research.
This paper was organized as follows. Section II describes
the background of the study is discussed. Section III identifies
the method of experimental design. Section IV discusses
proposed method and findings of the analysis. Finally, section
V concludes the paper.
II. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
A. Wireless Energy Transfer
Wireless Energy Transfer is a technology that enables to
transmit energy from the energy source to an electrical load
across in the air without wires. The energy transferring using
air for wireless charging, it could be used in the location that is
far from the energy source.
 2017 3rd International Conference on Science and Technology - Computer (ICST)

There are five techniques for wireless energy transfer,
namely, inductive coupling, capacitive coupling, magnetic
resonant coupling, and MW Radiation.
1) Inductive Coupling
Inductive coupling works by magnetic field induction that
delivers electrical energy between two coils. Inductive power
transfer happens when primary coil of an energy transmitter
generates a predominantly varying magnetic field across the
secondary coil of the energy receiver within the field generally,
less than a wavelength [12]. Under inductive coupling, power
transfer falls off steeply even over a very short distance [3]. Fig.
1 shows the reference model of inductive coupling.
(GHz), respectively [15]. MW radiation is capable of
transmitting power up to several kilometers [16].
B. Antenna
The antenna is the instrument for transmitting and receiving
the electromagnetic wave, named radio waves. Antenna
enables to resonance, so it can operate in the narrow frequency
band. Receiver and transmitter antenna must be set become
radio system that can be connecting each other. In another hand,
if it is not tuned, the transmission will be error [17].
Yagi-Uda antenna is the usually used by amateur radio. This
antenna enables as a television antenna, cellular antenna, and
collecting radio signal. Based on the shape, The Yagi-Uda
antenna was applied for communication at the short wave
frequency to MW by Very High Frequency (VHF) spectrum to
UHF spectrum [18]. Yagi-Uda antenna was shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 1. The model of inductive coupling [12]

2) Capacitive Coupling
Wireless power transfer using a near-field capacitive couple,
it was initially proposed for industrial application. The near- Fig. 3. The Yagi-Uda antenna [19]
field capacitive coupling is the capacitive counterpart near-
field resonant inductive coupling scheme. It does not need any Yagi-Uda antenna usually has three elements, there are a
material medium for the transfer of charges, to enable wireless reflector, a driven element, and one or more directors [13], [18].
energy transfer in its principal work [14]. In capacitive 1) Reflector: Element that absorbs and re-reflects the radio
coupling, the achievable amount of coupling capacitance is waves. The position is in the back of arrays after a driven
dependent on the available area of a device. element. The function of a reflector is a signal reflector and has
a low frequency resonant. The length of reflector element is
3) Magnetic Resonance Coupling 5 % longer than driven element. The length of the reflector
This technology is using a resonant coupling, by having depends on the distance and diameter its element.
magnetic resonant coils operate at the same resonance 2) Driven element: The element is the feed point, where the
frequency [15]. Magnetic resonant coupling, as shown in Fig. 2, feed line has been attached, to perform the transfer of power to
it was based on evanescent wave coupling, which generated the antenna. Driven element acts as energy transferring
and transfer electrical energy between two resonance coils performance from transmitter to the antenna.
through oscillating magnetic fields [12]. 3) Director: Director enables to give direction for the
antenna. Adding director element will add gain, but it will
press the antenna direction pattern.

Fig. 2. The model of magnetic resonance coupling [12]
4) Microwave (MW) Radiation
Radiofrequency (RF) and microwave (MW) radiation are
electromagnetic radiation in the frequency range 3 kilohertz
(kHz) - 300 Megahertz (MHz), and 300 MHz - 300 gigahertz
III. METHODOLOGY
This paper presents the experimental method using
electromagnetic waves as a media transferring energy. The
transmitter will transfer the energy through to the receiver.
Transmitter's antenna changes electron waves to
electromagnetic waves consisting of a photon to the receiver's
antenna. Transferred energy in the form of the photon is
modified to DC current about 5 volts.
The wet system is designed by using radio wave at UHF
band as the energy carrier. Measuring the measured energy by
using Firstcom FR-488 instrument and Yagi-Uda 5 antenna.
For the load, we use four LEDs that are set parallel. The totals
resistances of load are 150 ohms in the 12-volt transmitter unit.
 2017 3rd International Conference on Science and Technology - Computer (ICST)
The power of the transmitter is set at the high position, 39.00
watts. The range of various frequencies in this paper is 400
MHz to 489 MHz and the SWR is 1.2.
The basic principle of WET using UHF was shown in Fig. 4
and the electronic scheme on receiver unit is shown in Fig. 5.
Whereas Fig. 6 is the block diagram of the WET system in this
research.
Fig. 4. Diagram block of wireless energy transfer system [1]
Fig. 5. The scheme of the receiver unit electronic circuit system [1]
Fig. 6. Block diagram radio frequency based on WET
The position of the transmitter unit is rotated every 30°.
Every change of angle is noted as a current measurement. The
current is converted to the energy value from the receiver unit.
Several of distance is also experimented in this researched, so
we will know when the distance still allows energy transfers
occur in the transmitter and receiver. The efficiency would be
calculated by comparing the current in the each position. The
other efficiency was calculated by comparing transferring
current with the distance between transmitter and receiver unit.
Fig. 7. The experiment devices for research
Fig. 7 shown the devices of the WET system that is used in
this research. Before doing research, we have to measure the
power RF and set the multi meter instrument in the receiver
unit. These aim to measure current and voltage of the energy
transfer.
In the transmitter unit, we used Yagi-Uda style antenna.
The antenna converted the electron current to be an
electromagnetic wave. The energy was sent from the
transmitter in the electromagnetic wave state and was beamed
by the Yagi-Uda antenna to the receiver device. Of course, the
electromagnetic wave does not need any cable or conductor
wires to carry the energy and will put the receiver unit as
electronic in a current state. This current did fill the battery
along the transmitter or energy source unit is on. The Yagi-
Uda model antenna was satisfied the energy transfer process,
however, it was found that the energy transfer efficiency was
lower than by using a parabolic antenna. Even though, the
using of Yagi-Uda model antenna is reasonable, since this
model is very easy to set-up and able to be set up in multi array
mode in order the increased the efficiency as well. The
advantage of the Yagi-Uda antenna is the beaming pattern.
The beam pattern is very focused in the very narrow spot area.
Moreover, the distance between transmitter units to the
receiver unit is up to 10 meters with the reasonable in energy
transfer efficiency. In the near future using this multi-array
Yagi-Uda model antenna with the very high power source
should be investigated, in order to minimize the receiver size.
The minimizing the dimension of the receiver is very important
since the human organ electronic implant should as small as
possible.
The schematic diagram of the Yagi-Uda model antenna,
which was used in this experiment, can be seen in Fig. 8, and
the prediction beam pattern can be seen in Fig. 9, Fig. 10 and
Fig. 11 the transmitter antenna had been set in the frequency
UHF, with the SWR (Standing Wave Ratio) was less than 1.5.
 2017 3rd International Conference on Science and Technology - Computer (ICST)

Fig. 12. SWR (Standing Wave Ratio) Yagi-Uda 5 Element

IV. RESULT AND DISCUSSION

In this paper, we have provided the influence of the antenna
position and distance to the power including the current and
Fig. 8. The Yagi-Uda 5 elements antenna
voltage. The longest distance where energy transfer was still
received by the receiver is 1.25 meters. The closer the distance
between the transmitter and receiver antenna, then the greater
the current producing. In another hand, the farther the distance
between the transmitter and receiver antenna, then the smaller
the current producing, even to disappear. This case because
much of the nuisance parameters disturb wave radio, which is
through in the air between antennas.

TABLE I. DATA WIRELESS ENERGY TRANSFER

Fig. 9. The beam pattern of the Yagi-Uda Antenna
No F Distance PTx R Voltage Current PRx Eff.
(MHz) (cm) (W) (Ohm) Rx (V) Rx (A) (W) (%)
In this experiment, the same receiver unit was used (Yagi- 1 400 10 39 10 0.40 0.04 0.02 0.04
Uda to Parabolic), in order to compare the energy transfer 2 405 10 39 10 0.50 0.05 0.03 0.07
efficiency. In the previous experiment which was held by 3 410 10 39 10 0.25 0.02 0.01 0.01
4 415 10 39 10 0.49 0.04 0.02 0.05
Sunarno et. al. Parabolic to parabolic mode was used [1]. 5 420 10 39 10 0.65 0.06 0.04 0.10
6 425 10 39 10 0.75 0.08 0.06 0.15
7 430 10 39 10 0.70 0.07 0.05 0.12
8 435 10 39 10 0.69 0.07 0.05 0.12
9 440 10 39 10 0.90 0.09 0.08 0.21
10 445 10 39 10 1.10 0.11 0.12 0.30
11 450 10 39 10 1.20 0.12 0.14 0.36
12 455 10 39 10 1.20 0.12 0.14 0.36
13 460 10 39 10 1.10 0.12 0.13 0.32
14 465 10 39 10 0.25 0.02 0.01 0.01
15 470 10 39 10 0 0 0 0
16 475 10 39 10 0 0 0 0
17 480 10 39 10 0 0 0 0
18 485 10 39 10 0 0 0 0
19 489 10 39 10 0 0 0 0

Fig. 10. 2D the prediction beam pattern could be seen

In this research, the UHF transmitter generated radio
frequency with output energy of 39.00-watt energy source. The
range of various frequencies in this paper is 400 MHz to 489
MHz and the SWR is 1.2. The transmitter unit and the antenna
were connected with the 50 ohm-coaxial cable. In order to
transfer the energy, the transmitter system consisting Yagi-Uda
model antenna was applied. The results show that the
efficiency maximum of the measured energy transfer is 0.36%.

Fig. 11. 3D the prediction beam pattern could be seen

 2017 3rd International Conference on Science and Technology - Computer (ICST)
body for utilizing human implant device battery charging
without doing surgery for battery replacing.
Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics,
Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada for
supported the implementation and research.
Fig. 13. Capture DC current versus distance with 39 W energy source
Fig. 14. Capture DC current versus slope with 39 W energy source
For analyzing the antenna pattern, transmitter antenna has to
vary the polarizing. The result was shown in Fig. 14. The
highest current is in the 60 degrees of angle. However, 150
degrees is the angle which produces the lowest current.
V. CONCLUSIONS
In this research, the wireless energy transferred by using
Ultra High Frequency with the Yagi-Uda mode antenna had
been conducted. The UHF transmitter generated radio
frequency with output energy of 39.00-watt energy source. The
range of various frequencies in this paper is 400 MHz to 489
MHz and the SWR is 1.2. The transmitter unit and the antenna
were connected with the 50 ohm-coaxial cable. In order to
transfer the energy, the transmitter system consisting Yagi-Uda
model antenna was applied. The results show that the
efficiency maximum of the measured energy transfer is 0.36%.
The polarity and distance between antennas were influenced by
the efficiency of energy transferred.
The maximum energy transfer happens when the angle of
the transmitter antenna is 60 degrees, then the minimum is in
150 degrees of angle. The distance that enables to transfer
energy is 0 meter to 1.25 meters.
For the future work, the implemented of the WET system is
specifically for a human body implant. Shape and size of
receiver unit were designed for able to receive the maximum
energy. This research was specifically aimed to reach the ideal
condition, that is maximum efficiency but minimize in the
receiver unit size. Ideally, the size of the receiver is no more
than 1 cm3. This size is possible to be placed in the human
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We would like to thank Sensor and Telecontrol System
REFERENCES
[1] Sunarno (2014). The Wireless Energy Transfer Experiment using
Electromagnetic Wave based on Ultra High-Frequency Band.
Proceedings of the 3rd Applied Science for Technology Innovation,
ASTECHNOVA 2014 Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 13-24 August 2014.
[2] Wenzheng Xu, Weifa Liang, Jian Peng, Yiguang Liu, and Yan Wang.
Maximizing Charging Satisfaction of Smartphone Users via Wireless
Energy Transfer. IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, Vol. 16, No.
4, April 2017.
[3] M. R. Basar, M. Y. Ahmad, J. Cho and F. Ibrahim, "Stable and High-
Efficiency Wireless Power Transfer System for Robotic Capsule Using a
Modified Helmholtz Coil," in IEEE Transactions on Industrial
Electronics, vol. 64, no. 2, pp. 1113-1122, Feb. 2017.
[4] R. Jegadeesan, K. Agarwal, Y. X. Guo, S. C. Yen and N. V. Thakor,
"Wireless Power Delivery to Flexible Subcutaneous Implants Using
Capacitive Coupling," in IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and
Techniques, vol. 65, no. 1, pp. 280-292, Jan. 2017.
[5] S. C. Tang, T. L. T. Lun, Z. Guo, K. W. Kwok and N. J. McDannold,
"Intermediate Range Wireless Power Transfer With Segmented Coil
Transmitters for Implantable Heart Pumps," in IEEE Transactions on
Power Electronics, vol. 32, no. 5, pp. 3844-3857, May 2017.
[6] S. Stoecklin, A. Yousaf, T. Volk and L. Reindl, "Efficient Wireless
Powering of Biomedical Sensor Systems for Multichannel Brain
Implants," in IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement,
vol. 65, no. 4, pp. 754-764, April 2016.
[7] H. Vihvelin, J. R. Leadbetter, M. Bance, J. A. Brown and R. B. A.
Adamson, "Compensating for Tissue Changes in an Ultrasonic Power
Link for Implanted Medical Devices," in IEEE Transactions on
Biomedical Circuits and Systems, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 404-411, April 2016.
[8] P. Hu, Y. W. You, F. Y. B. Chen, D. McCormick and D. M. Budgett,
"Wireless Power Supply for ICP Devices With Hybrid Supercapacitor
and Battery Storage," in IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics
in Power Electronics, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 273-279, March 2016.
[9] H. Zhang, F. Lu, H. Hofmann, W. Liu and C. C. Mi, "A Four-Plate
Compact Capacitive Coupler Design and LCL-Compensated Topology
for Capacitive Power Transfer in Electric Vehicle Charging
Application," in IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 31, no.
12, pp. 8541-8551, Dec. 2016.
[10] Smida; S. Khaledian, "ReflectFX: In-band Full-duplex wireless
communication by means of reflected power," in IEEE Transactions on
Communications, vol.PP, no.99, pp.1-1, 2017.
[11] Weite Zhang; Shilie Zheng; Xiaonan Hui; Ruofan Dong; Xiaofeng Jin;
Hao Chi; Xianmin Zhang, "Mode Division Multiplexing
Communication Using Microwave Orbital Angular Momentum: An
Experimental Study," in IEEE Transactions on Wireless
Communications, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 1308-1318, Feb. 2017
[12] X. Lu, P. Wang, D. Niyato, D. I. Kim and Z. Han, "Wireless Charging
Technologies: Fundamentals, Standards, and Network Applications," in
IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 1413-
1452, Secondquarter 2016.
[13] H. Zhang, P. Sun, C. Li, Y. Huang, and L. Yang, “Cooperative
Precoding for Wireless Energy Transfer and Secure Cognitive Radio
Coexistence Systems,” IEEE Signal Process. Lett., vol. 9908, no. c, pp.
1–1, 2017.
[14] R. Jegadeesan, K. Agarwal, Y. X. Guo, S. C. Yen and N. V. Thakor,
"Wireless Power Delivery to Flexible Subcutaneous Implants Using
Capacitive Coupling," in IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and
Techniques, vol. 65, no. 1, pp. 280-292, Jan. 2017.
 2017 3rd International Conference on Science and Technology - Computer (ICST)

[15] Xie, Y. Shi, Y. T. Hou and A. Lou, "Wireless power transfer and
applications to sensor networks," in IEEE Wireless Communications, vol.
20, no. 4, pp. 140-145, August 2013.
[16] Qingwen Liu; Jun Wu; Pengfei Xia; Shengjie Zhao; Wei Chen; Yanping
Yang; Lajos Hanzo, "Charging Unplugged: Will Distributed Laser
Charging for Mobile Wireless Power Transfer Work?," in IEEE
Vehicular Technology Magazine, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 36-45, Dec. 2016.
[17] Antenna Basic Concept. Pulse Electronic Larsen Antennas, 1-800-
ANTENNA (268-3662).
[18] (2017) http://www.wisegeek.net/what-is-a-yagi-antenna.htm. Access on
March 14, 2017.
[19] Simon R. Saunders, Alejandro Aragon-Zavala (2007). Antennas and
Propagation for Wireless Communication Systems. John Wiley & Sons,
Ltd. The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ,
England.
[20] (2017) http://hamuniverse.com/yagibasics.html Access on March 29,
2017.
[21] (2017) http://www.hamuniverse.com/yagibasics.html. Access on March
14, 2017.
E3S Web of Conferences 43, 01027 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20184301027
ASTECHNOVA 2017

The wireless energy transfer (WET) using ultra high frequency

(UHF) for human body implant recharging
Fahmy Rinanda Saputri1, Sunarno2*, Memory Motivanisman Waruwu3, Rony Wijaya4

1
Master Student in Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada
2,3
Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada
4
Production House Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Gadjah Mada

Abstract. The wireless energy transfer (wet) is widely used in many fields. In particularly for medical, this
technique can be implemented to an electronic human body implant recharging. The possible size and shape
of the receiver antenna in the experiment before still become a problem. Using Yagi-Uda model antenna for
the transmitter unit in ultra-high frequency (UHF) band, this paper refers to design a receiver antenna for
implemented as a human implant recharging. The receiver antenna has successfully designed in minimal
with its size and shape of the designed antenna is about 1.44 cm3.

1 Introduction Exiting the various applications of the wireless

The wireless energy transfer (wet) has been carried out
in various field. Sunarno has designed the basic system
for the wireless energy transfer based on ultra high
frequency (UHF) band [1]. The transmitter and receiver
system was using parabolic metal reflector system. This
system able to transfer energy and fill the rechargeable
battery with the efficiency was about 1%.
Sunarno and the team have also succeeded in their
experiment about transferring energy using wireless
technology based on UHF band with Yagi-Uda
Directional antenna as a transmitter antenna. From the
experiment can be concluded that distance and angle of
transmitter antenna influenced for the amount of energy
received. In this case, the amount of energy received is
proportional with the current and voltage measured [2].
Reference [3] gave an experiment about designing
ultra wideband antenna. It's application for a short
distance communication system. The performance of the
antenna is good with its fractional bandwidth of more
than 108.2% and the range antenna resonance frequency
from 3.1 to 10.5 GHz. In [4], the author presented
elaborated prototype of energy harvesting in the ultra-
high frequency band. It is used for excess energy and
conducting radio communication process.
For implantable Bioelectronics, wireless energy
transfer is possible to be applied. Reference [5] reviews
the theory, link designed, and different wireless strategy
ranging from the near-field inductive and capacitive
coupling to the ultrasonics, mid-field and far field for the
neural implants. The author considered that wirelessly
powered implants are efficient and integrable if it is
implemented as implantation device.
Recent various contributions in the area of energy
harvesting are summarized in [6]. Based on the author's
reviews, there is interdisciplinary nature from the
devices that wireless transfer and harvest energy.
Additionally, in reference [7], the authors discuss issue
and challenge in future implementing the integration of
wireless charging technologies.
energy transfer, this paper that continuing the research
before [2] was conducting research specifically for the
medical area. In the medical, the wet can be utilized as
an electronic human body implant recharging. The
methods have already done in the experiments before,
but there are problems, such as the size of the receiver
unit doesn't match if it is implemented as an implant and
can’t be applied as an energy harvesting yet. An energy
harvesting technique is very advantageous because
recharging energy can occur automatically if the people
who use implant are in the radiation electromagnetic
field and should not be done intensively in the hospital.
The paper is organized into five sections. Section II
discusses various terms explanation for understanding
this research topic. The setup and methodological of the
system concerns specifically in Section III. Furthermore,
in Section IV, we discuss with a brief result clarifications
based on the final graphs and data. We end with a
conclusion and future research in the real receiver
application for human body implant in Section V.
2 Theoretical Background
2.1. Ultra high-frequency antenna
Ultra high frequency is electromagnetic waves in the
frequency of 300 MHz to 3.000 MHz. The range of wave
length is 10 cm to 100 cm [10]. The popular UHF
antenna is Yagi-Uda. Yagi-Uda antenna is used to
transfers or receives the radio waves and has a
directional function, meaning it only can take or receives
the signal in single direction i.e. front. Yagi-Uda antenna
has range of gain is 3 to 20 dB. The elements of this
antenna are driven, reflector, director, and boom [10].
Driven is the feed point to perform the transfer of power
of the antenna [2]. The length of the driven antenna is
0.5λ. A reflector is utilized for reflecting the signal. The
position is in the behind. The length of a reflector is
about 0.55λ. Director as a referrer has the shorter length
than driven. Adding director will increase the gain,

*
Corresponding author: sunarno@ugm.ac.id
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
E3S Web of Conferences 43, 01027 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20184301027
ASTECHNOVA 2017

however, the beam pattern will more narrow. The boom In this system, the same electronic scheme, the Yagi-
is part of the antenna made of the wood and metal stem Uda Antenna, and the beam antenna were used. In
for placing driven, reflector, and director. The antenna previous research, that components were conducted by
has a space between elements is 0.1λ of the frequency. Sunarno et.al, are shown in Fig. 2, 3, 4, and 5.

Fig. 2. The scheme of receiver circuit unit [1]

Fig. 1. The Yagi-Uda antenna [10]

2.2 Wireless charging

Wireless charging is the technology that enables a power

to transmit electromagnetic energy to an electrical load
without cable. Wireless charging has many advantages
[7]: wireless charging improves user friendliness as
without cable for implementation. better product
durability renders the smaller devices design and
Fig. 3. The Yagi-Uda model antenna [2]
fabrication and is more flexible and energy-efficient in
an on-demand fashion. There are two major wireless
charging technologies, i.e. radio frequency based
wireless charging and coupling-based wireless charging.
Wireless charging is attracting a many application, such
as smartphone battery charging, vehicle charging,
wireless communication, and biomedical devices [2]. For
biomedical devices as an implantation, the coupling-
based wireless charging has been conducted [11].
white, and this should be taken into account when
preparing them.
Fig. 4. The beam pattern of Yagi-Uda model antenna [2]

3 Experimental setup
This study proposed that the use of the Yagi-Uda model
antenna using ultra high frequency (UHF) is able to
transfer energy with the wireless energy transfer
technique. The wireless technique can be applied in
many fields, especially in the medical field, that is to
recharging electronic implant.
The methodology and technique of research have
been conducted in previous research that was held by
Sunarno et.al. For the transmitter unit, we also used Fig. 5. The 2D prediction of beam pattern [2]
Yagi-Uda model antenna. The beaming pattern of Yagi-
Uda antenna is the reason. It is very focused, moreover
in the narrow spot area. The transmitter antenna is able
to changes electron wave to electromagnetic wave to the
receiver antenna.
The wet system has designed by using ultra-high
frequency band, that is 430 MHz as an energy carrier.
Firstcom FR-488 instrument is used for measuring
measured energy [2]. The power transmitter unit is 55
watt and 12 volts. The value of standing wave ratio in
this research is 1.12.

2
E3S Web of Conferences 43, 01027 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20184301027
ASTECHNOVA 2017

Fig. 6. The 3D prediction of beam pattern [2]

Fig. 8. The receiver antenna

4 Result and discussion

The study focused on the analysis of the unit receiver
antenna design and doing experiment with varying the
distance between transmitter and receiver antenna. The
energy received based on varying distance is also
analyzed. The measured result of the system based on
varying distance is shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 7. The research devices Fig. 9. Capture current versus distance with 55-watt energy
source
Fig. 6 shown the devices of wireless energy transfer
system for this research. We used Yagi-Uda antenna of The results show that the most of the current
the transmitter unit, Firstcom FR-488 for measuring decreases when the distance enlarged between
transmitter unit, voltmeter and ampere meter for transmitter and receiver unit. The received power can be
measuring received energy and use the modified antenna calculated by a formula,
as a receiver antenna. Because the implementation of the
receiver antenna is for human implant electronic for P=V×I (1)
recharging system, we design the minimal antenna. The
size of the antenna is about 1.44 cm3. The size is able
enough to insert in the body as human impant electronic.
The receiver antenna is shown in Fig. 7.

3
E3S Web of Conferences 43, 01027 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20184301027
ASTECHNOVA 2017

Fig. 10. Capture power versus distance with 55-watt energy

Fig. 12. Bone vibrator implantation system
source

The result of power in mW can be calculated by the

measured voltage times the measured current in the
receiver antenna. Fig. 9 is the graph capture of the
received power. The technique was applied to
transferring energy. The size of the receiver antenna that
has been designed is 1.44 cm3. The technique can
recharge implant device without doing surgery. The
antenna receiver design is successful to receiving energy
in the ultra high-frequency band with 0.00116% of the
efficiency, 10 cm of the distance, using Yagi-Uda model
antenna as a transmitter. The energy received by the
constructed system was also higher with the short
distance between transmitter and receiver antenna
compared to the far distance.
In the next research, received antenna will be Fig. 13. Capture power versus distance with 55-watt energy
implemented to the deaf. Fig. 10 shows wireless energy source
transfer for human implantation system diagram that will
be used in the next research, specifically for bone Fig. 12 is the monitoring system of the final research.
vibrator implantation system as in Fig. 11.
The final of the future research is implementation the
wireless energy transfer using ultra-high frequency for
the implantation electronic to the deaf. This electronic is
able to help the deaf to feel the vibration of the sound
and can monitor the vibrator.

4 Conclusion
The energy transfer was successfully performed using a
wireless energy transfer technique using the ultra-high
frequency (UHF) band with the Yagi-Uda model antenna
as a transmitter and a small receiver antenna design,
which is about 1.44 cm . The research has succeeded
3

transfer energy with the minimal design od the receiver

antenna. This minimal antenna received size allows it to
Fig. 11. The wireless energy transfer for human implantation
be implanted into the human body as an electronic
research system diagram experiment system diagram
implant recharging.

The authors would like to thank Sensor and Telecontrol System

Laboratory, Department of Nuclear Engineering and
Engineering Physics, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas
Gadjah Mada for providing the lab facilities to complete this
research.

4
E3S Web of Conferences 43, 01027 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20184301027
ASTECHNOVA 2017

References
1. Sunarno, Astechnova, 62-70 (2014)
2. Sunarno, F.R. Saputri, M.M. Waruwu, R. Wijaya,
International Conference on Science and
Technology (2017)
3. V.K. Rai, M. Kumar, M.D. Upadhayay,
International Conference on Computational
Intelligence and Communication Networks, 16-19
(2015)
4. L. Bernacki, R. Gozdur, N. Salamon, Conference
Series, 709 (2016)
5. K. Agarwal, R. Jegadeesan, Y-X. Guo, N. V.
Thakor, IEEE Reviews in Biomedical Engineering,
10 (2017)
6. S. Ulukus, A. Yener, E. Erkip, O. Simeone, M.
Zorzi, P. Grover, K. Huang, IEEE J. Selected Areas
in Communications, 33 (2015)
7. X. Lu, P. Wang, D. Niyato, D. I. Kim, Z. Han, IEEE
Comm. Surveys & Tutorials, 18, 1413-1452 (2016)
8. L. Xie, Y. Shi, Y. T. Hou, W. Lou, IEEE Wireless
Communications, 140-145 (2013)
9. P. Nepa, H. Rogier, IEEE Antennas & Propagation
Magazine, 30-52 (2015)
10. Sunarno, Diktat Mata Kuliah TKF 3515-
Komunikasi Data, Jurusan Teknik Fisika Fakultas
Teknik Universitas Gadjah Mada (2013)
11. S. C. Tang, T. L. T. Lun, Z. Guo, K. W. Kwok, N. J.
McDannold, IEEE Trans. Power Electronics 32,
3844-3857 (2017)

5
 2018 4th International Conference on Science and Technology (ICST), Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Stepper Motor Driven Solar Tracker System

for Solar Panel
Rachmana Berlindo Citra Lestari
Singgih Hawibowo Imadudin Ala Department of Nuclear Engineering and
Department of Nuclear Engineering and Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics
Engineering Physics Engineering Physics Universitas Gadjah Mada,
Universitas Gadjah Mada, Universitas Gadjah Mada, D.I. Yogyakarta, Indonesia
D.I. Yogyakarta, Indonesia D.I. Yogyakarta, Indonesia
singgih@ugm.ac.id

Fahmy Rinanda Saputri

Department of Nuclear Engineering and
Engineering Physics
Universitas Gadjah Mada,
D.I. Yogyakarta, Indonesia
fahmyrs@yahoo.com

Abstract— Solar power plant is one of energy converters that
are essential to sustain human life in the future where fossil fuel
supplies will be depleting. It is also very useful for areas where
electricity supply is not available. Generally, solar panels are
fitted on a structure with a static direction. The generated
electric energy will be optimal if the direction of the panel can
follow the movement of the direction of incoming solar rays. This
research is aimed to study the use of a solar tracker and driver
system of a solar panel on its technical and economic aspects of.
The system consists of LDR sensors, two stepper motors, and a
microcontroller. The experimental results showed an error of
1.30⁰ at the east-west direction and of 0.85⁰ at the north-south
direction. A life cycle cost analysis shows that the use of the solar
tracker system will be economical for solar panels with a capacity
of 200 or more Wp.
Keywords— solar panel, solar tracker, life-cycle cost analysis
I. INTRODUCTION
Energy plays an important role in human civilization. The
greatest one is electricity. The generation of electrical energy
can use the unrenewable energy sources such as fossil fuels or
renewable energy sources. Solar energy is one of the
renewable energy sources that can be converted to electricity
using photovoltaic (PV) modules. One of the questions about
PV solar panels is the optimization of the electricity
generation. Solar panels will get the maximum solar radiation
when its surface is perpendicular to the direction of the
incoming sunlight. When the sunlight direction curve an angle
of θ, the panels will receive solar radiation less than an upright
position to the factor of cos θ.
The research of Cipriani et al [1] deal with the method of
calculating the estimated increase in electricity generation
which should be guaranteed by the photovoltaic generator
dynamic so that its realization can be more profitable than a
static photovoltaic power value of the same output. The
economical index developed for this research is the payback
period and net present value.
Sumant Malav et al [2] was doing research on a single axis
solar tracking system using a stepper motor. The control
algorithm for the system allows the movement of the panels
into east-west direction. Meikap et al [3] did a design of a
single axis solar tracking system based on Arduino. The
components used in the study include DC motor, a
microcontroller Arduino, RTC and mechanical structure
containing gearbox and ancillary equipment. The research
aims to know the minimum price for a solar tracking system.
Research on the solar tracking system is also carried out by
Ray et al [4]. They designed and created a prototype of solar
tracking system using LDR sensor. The sensor and
microcontroller Atmega8 are programmed to detect the
sunlight and then it enables the DC motor L293D to drive the
the solar panels toward the direction of the incoming sunlight.
Adhi Cahyo Wijaya [5] experimented with solar tracker
system to identify the performance of using LDR sensor and
the effect of tracking period. Zulfah Mahmudah [6] examines
the use of an east-west single axis solar tracker for a solar
home system. The study compared the increase of energy
generation and the energy consumption of the solar tracker
system.
This study is aimed to examine the use of stepper motor in
the dual axis design of solar tracker system. The stepper motor
is chosen in this study because there are many advantadges of
utilizing the stepper motor, i.e., good transient response,
excellent torque holding with low power, requires low speed
but high precision, low power consumption, long lifetime, and
good torque at low speed. The solar tracker system consists of
two stepper motors, two light sensors, and a microcontroller.
The performance of the solar tracker system will be studied by
measuring the energy consumption of the tracker system and
the additional electrical energy production of the solar panel

978-1-5386-5813-0/18/$31.00 ©2018 IEEE

 2018 4th International Conference on Science and Technology (ICST), Yogyakarta, Indonesia
by using the solar tracker system. An economic analysis of the
solar tracker system will also be discussed in this paper by
considering the investment and operation cost of the system.
II. MATERIAL AND METHOD
The experimental work of this study used the following
components: solar panel, solar power meter, DC power supply,
stepper motor, stepper motor driver, LDR sensor, Arduino
Uno R3 microcontroller, flashlight as a light source, digital
multimeter.
The general block diagram of solar tracker system is
shown in Fig. 1. In this study, the control system of the panel
direction consists of two LDR sensors, two stepper motors,
and an Arduino Uno R3 microcontroller.
The LDR sensors convert light intensity to the value of
electric resistance. The microcontroller converts voltage value
(0 to 5 volt) to digital value (0 to 1023 bit). The stepper motor
Nema 17 is used as an actuator for driving the solar panel
direction. Fig. 2 shows the flowchart of solar tracker system
used in this study. Fig. 3 shows the developed electronic
system of the solar tracker.
Fig. 1. The solar tracker system block diagram [7].
Fig. 2. The flowchart of solar tracker system.
Fig. 3. The electronic system of the solar tracker.
The performance of the solar tracker system will be tested
based on its capability to drive the panel direction to follow
the direction of incoming light. The testing will be conducted
for the east-west direction and the north-south direction.
The energy which is consumed by the solar tracker system
is calculated based on the measured voltage and current. The
result will be used for calculating the operation cost of the
solar tracker system. It determines whether the use of the solar
tracker system will be economically beneficial.
III. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
The testing of the solar tracker system is conducted by
using a flashlight. The angle of the incoming light to the LDR
sensor is varied from 50o to 130o with an increment of 10o.
The mechanical load of the solar tracker system is varied from
0 to 500 gr. The results of the testing are given in the Table 1
and 2. Table 1 shows the average direction error of the system
for the east-west direction and the Table 2 for north-south
direction.
The evaluation of the economical aspect of the solar
tracker system is based on the surplus of energy generation of
the dynamic PV panel which using solar tracker system in
comparison with the static one. Use the method of life cycle
cost analysis which includes the initial (see Table 3 and 4), the
operation cost of the solar tracker system, and the surplus of
electrical energy generation as the result (see Table 5 and 6) of
the optimized PV panel’s direction.
Static means that solar panel didn’t move while the sunlight
direction was changing. In other hand, dynamic means that the
solar panel position follow the sunlight direction by using
stepper motor.
2018 4th International Conference on Science and Technology (ICST), Yogyakarta, Indonesia

TABLE I. ANGLE AT THE EAST-WEST DIRECTION

The angle of the motor (⁰) Error (⁰)

Radiance angle
(⁰) Load Load Load Load Load Load
Without load Without load
100gr 200gr 500gr 100gr 200gr 500gr
50 52 52 52 52 2 2 2 2
60 62 62 62 62 2 2 2 2
70 71 71 71 71 1 1 1 1
80 82 81 82 82 2 1 2 2
90 91 90 90 90 1 0 0 0
100 102 101 102 101 2 1 2 1
110 111 111 111 111 1 1 1 1
120 121 121 121 122 1 1 1 2
130 130 132 131 131 0 2 1 1
Error average (O) 1,33 1,22 1,33 1,33

TABLE II. ANGLE AT THE NORTH-SOUTH DIRECTION

The angle of the motor (⁰) Error (⁰)

Radiance angle
Load Load Load Load Load Load
(⁰) Without load Without load
100gr 200gr 500gr 100gr 200gr 500gr
110 111 112 111 111 1 2 1 1
100 100 101 102 101 0 1 2 1
90 90 90 90 90 0 0 0 0
80 82 81 80 80 2 1 0 0
70 72 71 71 71 2 1 1 1
Error average (O) 1 1 0,8 0,6

TABLE III. ESTIMATED INITIAL COST OF PANEL SYSTEM 20 WP

Type Total cost (thousand IDR)

Dynamic 2,831.03
Static 1,734.68
Difference 1,096.35

TABLE IV. ESTIMATED INITIAL COST OF PANEL SYSTEM 200 WP

Type Total cost (thousand IDR)

Dynamic 5,392.15
Static 4,003.30
Difference 1,388.85

TABLE V. ESTIMATED ENERGY PRODUCTION OF PANEL SYSTEM 20 WP

Energy production
Type Power output (watt)
watt hour/year thousand IDR/year
Dynamic 6.08 22,617.60 70.97
Static 4.54 13,250.96 52.98
Difference 1.54 9,366.64 18.00
 2018 4th International Conference on Science and Technology (ICST), Yogyakarta, Indonesia

TABLE VI. ESTIMATED ENERGY PRODUCTION OF PANEL SYSTEM 200 WP

Energy production
Type Power output (watt)
watt hour/year thousand IDR/year
Dynamic 90.44 264,084.80 1,055.76
Static 67.20 196,224.00 784.47
Difference 23.24 67,860.80 271.29

The estimated energy consumption of the solar tracker [8] Lestari, Rachmana B. C. “Analisis Kinerja Energi dan Ekonomi pada
Sistem Solar Tracker Sumbu Ganda Menggunakan Motor Stepper dan
system is 578.53 watt hour/year or 2.31 thousand IDR/year.
Sensor LDR Berbasis Arduino Uno R3”. Skripsi, Fakultas Teknik,
The evaluation using annual worth method showed that the Universitas Gadjah Mada. 2017.
use of the solar tracker system is profitable for the PV panel [9] S.R. Wenham, Ed. Applied photovoltaic. 2nd ed. London; Sterling. VA:
capacity of 200 Wp. Earthscan, 2007.
[10] Anonim. How Does a Solar Panel Works. Accessed from
www.solarpower.com, July 12, 2016.
IV. CONCLUSION
In this research, an experimental evaluation of a dual axis
solar tracker system which consist of two static mounted LDR
sensors, two motor steppers, and a microcontroller has been
conducted. The results showed that the system is able to track
the solar rays’ direction with an error of 1.30⁰ at the east-west
direction and of 0.85⁰ at the north-south direction. An
evaluation using life-cycle cost analysis showed that the use of
the solar tracker system will be economical for solar panels
with a capacity of 200 or more Wp.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We would like to thank the Renewable Energy Laboratory
at the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering
Physics, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada for
any kind of support for this research.

REFERENCES
[1] G. Cipriani, V. Di Dio, D. La Manna, F. Massaro, R. Miceli dan G.
Zizzo. “Economic Analysis on Dynamic Photovoltaic System in New
Italian ‘Feed in Tariffs’ Context”. 2013 International Conference on
Clean Electrical Power (ICCEP). 584-590, 2013.
[2] Malav S., Vadhera, S.” Hardware Implementation of Solar Tracking
System Using a Stepper Motor”. IEEE, 2015.
[3] Meikap, S., Dey S. “Development of a Low-Cost Optimum Power
Tracking Prototype for Solar Energy”. IEEE, 2016.
[4] Ray, S., Tripathi, A.K. “Design and Development of Tilted Single Axis
and Azimuth-Altitude Dual Axis Solar Tracking Systems”. IEEE
International Conference on Power Electronics, Intelligent Control and
Energy System (ICPEICES-2016).
[5] Wijaya, Adhi Cahyo. “Rancangan Sistem Sensor dan Optimasi Sistem
Solar Tracker Melalui Modifikasi Metode Penjejakan”. Skripsi.
Fakultas Teknik, Universitas Gadjah Mada. 2016.
[6] Mahmudah, Zulfah. “Analisis Potensi Penggunaan Solar Tracker
Terhadap Kinerja Solar Home Syatem (SHS) di Puskesmas Purwosari,
Kabupaten Gunungkidul”. Skripsi, Fakultas Teknik, Universitas Gadjah
Mada. 2016.
[7] Ala, Imadudin. “Perancangan Penjejak Matahari (Solar Tracker)
berbasis Mikrokontroler untuk Pengaturan Arah Panel Surya”
Perancangan Penjejak Matahari (Solar Tracker) berbasis
Mikrokontroler untuk Pengaturan Arah Panel Surya. Skripsi. Fakultas
Teknik, Universitas Gadjah Mada. 2017.