Survey of energy harvesting and energy scavenging approaches for on-site powering of wireless sensor- and microinstrument-networks

D. Lee; G. Dulai; Vassili Karanassios

doi:10.1117/12.2016238

28 May 2013 Survey of energy harvesting and energy scavenging approaches for on-site powering of wireless sensor- and microinstrument-networks

D. Lee, G. Dulai, Vassili Karanassios

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8728, Energy Harvesting and Storage: Materials, Devices, and Applications IV; 87280S (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2016238
Event: SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing, 2013, Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Abstract

Energy (or power) harvesting can be defined as the gathering and either storing or immediately using energy “freely” available in a local environment. Examples include harvesting energy from obvious sources such as photon-fluxes (e.g., solar), or wind or water waves, or from unusual sources such as naturally occurring pH differences. Energy scavenging can be defined as gathering and storing or immediately re-using energy that has been discarded, for instance, waste heat from air conditioning units, from in-door lights or from everyday actions such as walking or from body-heat. Although the power levels that can be harvested or scavenged are typically low (e.g., from nWatt/cm² to mWatt/cm²), the key motivation is to harvest or to scavenge energy for a wide variety of applications. Example applications include powering devices in remote weather stations, or wireless Bluetooth headsets, or wearable computing devices or for sensor networks for health and bio-medical applications. Beyond sensors and sensor networks, there is a need to power compete systems, such as portable and energy-autonomous chemical analysis microinstruments for use on-site. A portable microinstrument is one that offers the same functionality as a large one but one that has at least one critical component in the micrometer regime. This paper surveys continuous or discontinuous energy harvesting and energy scavenging approaches (with particular emphasis on sensor and microinstrument networks) and it discusses current trends. It also briefly explores potential future directions, for example, for nature-inspired (e.g., photosynthesis), for human-power driven (e.g., for biomedical applications, or for wearable sensor networks) or for nanotechnology-enabled energy harvesting and energy scavenging approaches.

Citation Download Citation

D. Lee, G. Dulai, and Vassili Karanassios "Survey of energy harvesting and energy scavenging approaches for on-site powering of wireless sensor- and microinstrument-networks", Proc. SPIE 8728, Energy Harvesting and Storage: Materials, Devices, and Applications IV, 87280S (28 May 2013); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2016238

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available