Kinetic energy from vibrations emerging from mechanical systems such as machines and vehicles has been thoroughly studied as a power source in the last two decades. Numerous kinetic energy harvesters have been built to convert human locomotion into electrical power but haven’t been implemented on a wide commercial scale. On the other hand, energy harvesters for farm animals haven’t been studied as much. In this paper, we present a three-dimensional electromagnetic induction based kinetic energy harvester optimized specifically for cattle wearable applications. All the device parameters are obtained with an empirical optimization procedure by considering specific cattle locomotion characteristics. The prototype is 3-D printed with low friction and impact resistant materials. Finally, the device is tested in a real free grazing scenario with live cattle. The kinetic energy harvester performed well and was able to power the load and transmit animal body temperature data over long distances for up to 7 times/h.
In this paper the authors present a novel application for electromagnetic kinetic energy harvesting focusing on farm animal wearables used in precision livestock farming IoT technologies. Converting the locomotion of domesticated animals, like cow steps or cow ear movement, into electrical energy with inertial kinetic energy harvesters hasn’t been fully researched thus far. The kinetic energy converted this way could potentially be used to power smart farming wearables used for location, disease or lifecycle events detection, thus eliminating the need for finite lifetime batteries. In this work, a proof-of-concept of a cow step energy harvester is presented in detail. At first a short review of the state of the art is given which formed the basis of the research, followed by locomotion logging experiments. Finite element modelling of the kinetic energy harvester is used for parameter analysis and initial design followed by laboratory testing and available power estimation. Finally, the construction of the wearable harvester is presented together with custom wearable measuring equipment. Field experiments were performed with free grazing Finncattle at a dairy farm in Tampere, Finland, which proved that a cow step based kinetic energy harvester can be used to power a Bluetooth beacon.
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