Poster: Multi-source Energy Harvesting for IoT nodes

2016 IEEE Online Conference on Green Communications (OnlineGreenComm), 2016

Wireless sensor networks are constrained by their energy supply. In order to relief this constraint, scavenging ambient energy from the environment has been considered. However, most existing energy harvesting devices rely on a single energy source, potentially reducing the sensor reliability. In this paper, we present an architecture for multi-source energy harvesting, aimed at low cost and easy integration with existing wireless sensors. Unlike existing architectures, our solution relies on a single power conditioning block. This block is powered by multiple sources, selected through a switch matrix by a dedicated controller. A prototype has been developed, validated and compared with alternative architectures. First results show our architecture benefits for systems using many heterogeneous sources, and highlights improvement possibilities through the addition of MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) circuitry.

MIST INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The concept and development of an independent energy harvesting mechanism functioning intermittently are described in this paper. A power management circuit (PMC) that is self-regulating, an energy scavenging module, a circuit for charging batteries, as well as an electronic load are all a component of the system that has been proposed. This proposed circuit is designed to attain a fixed output power with a diverse input range. In the unavailability of an additional voltage supply, the PMC can react, maintain, and smartly control the electronic load's power supply. The self-powered energy accumulating technique is expected to be used in situations when supplied power is inadequate to drive the load properly, such as Internet of Things (IoT) applications. IoT is a dispersed architecture of reduced-power, limited-storage, lightweight, and nodes that are adaptive. The majority of embedded IoT devices and low-power IoT sensors are driven by short-life batteries that must be replaced...

ArXiv, 2017

In this paper, we present techniques and examples to reduce power consumption and increase energy efficiency of autonomous Wireless Sensor Nodes (WSNs) for the Internet of Things. We focus on the RF Energy Harvester (RFEH), the data receiver and the transmitter, all of which have a large impact on the device cost, lifetime and functionality. Co-design of the antenna and the electronics is explored to boost the power conversion efficiency of the RF-DC converter. As a proof of principle, a charge pump rectifier is designed, and its measurement results are presented. To boost the rectifier output voltage, a DC-DC converter that employs maximum power point tracking has been designed. A prototype circuit is also presented that can accommodate an input power level range of 1 {\mu}W to 1 mW and offers peak efficiencies of 76.3% and 82% at 1 {\mu}W and 1 mW, respectively. The co-design principle is also used at the receiver side where the antenna-electronics interface is optimized. It is sh...

IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 2017

Harvesting energy from nonconventional sources in the environment has received increased attention over the past decade from researchers who study these alternative energy sources for low power applications. Although that energy harvested is small and in the order of milliwatt, it can provide enough power for wireless sensors and other low-power applications. In the environment there is a lot of wasted energy that can be converted into electricity to power the various circuits and represents a potentially cheap source of power. Energy harvesting is important because it offers an alternative power supply for electronic devices where is does not exist conventional energy sources. This technology applied in a wireless sensor network (WSN) and devices on the IoT, will eliminate the need for networkbased energy and conventional batteries, will minimize maintenance costs, eliminate cables and batteries and is ecological. It has the same advantage in applications from remote locations, underwater, and other hard to reach places where conventional batteries and energy are not suitable. Energy harvesting will promote environmentally friendly technologies that will save energy, will reduce CO2 emissions, which makes this technology indispensable for achieving nextgeneration smart cities and sustainable society. In response to the challenges of energy, in this article we remind the basics of harvesting energy and we discuss the various applications of this technology where traditional batteries cannot be used.

2012

Power consumption is one of the most critical issues when designing low-cost electronic devices, such as sensing nodes in wireless sensor networks. To support their operation, such systems usually contain a battery; however, when the battery has consumed all its energy, the node (e.g. the sensor) must be retrieved and the battery replaced. If the node is located in a remote and non-accessible placement, battery replacement can become an expensive (and even impossible) task. This way, energy harvesting has emerged as a suitable alternative to supply low-power electronic systems, by converting ambient energy into electric power. Scavenged energy can be used to directly supply the circuits, or stored to be used when needed. This paper summarises the power needs of a general wireless sensor node and describes the main principles of most representative energy harvesting technologies.

Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Energy Neutral Sensing Systems - ENSsys '14, 2014

Future Internet of Things is paving the way for the proliferation of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). To overcome the limited energy in batteries, WSN nodes are relying on everlasting environmental energy. Moreover, a Power Manager (PM) is also embedded in each WSN node to guarantees that the total consumed energy is equal to the harvested energy for a long period, leading to Energy Neutral Operation (ENO) with a theoretically infinite lifetime. In this paper, a new PM for WSN nodes powered by periodic sources (e.g. ambient energy is not available during the full harvesting cycle) is proposed. Not only respecting the ENO condition, our PM is able to balance the Quality of Service (QoS) during the whole cycle to provide regular data tracking, which is essential for WSN applications like monitoring. Simulations on OMNET++ show that our PM can improve the QoS during the absence of energy by a factor up to 84% compared to state-of-the-art PMs, while guaranteeing the same global QoS.

2017

In this paper, we present techniques and examples to reduce power consumption and increase energy efficiency of autonomous Wireless Sensor Nodes (WSNs) for the Internet of Things. We focus on the RF Energy Harvester (RFEH), the data receiver and the transmitter, all of which have a large impact on the device cost, lifetime and functionality. Codesign of the antenna and the electronics is explored to boost the power conversion efficiency of the RF-DC converter. As a proof of principle, a charge pump rectifier is designed, and its measurement results are presented. To boost the rectifier output voltage, a DC-DC converter that employs maximum power point tracking has been designed. A prototype circuit is also presented that can accommodate an input power level range of 1μW to 1mW and offers peak efficiencies of 76.3% and 82% at 1μW and 1mW, respectively. The co-design principle is also used at the receiver side where the antenna-electronics interface is optimized. It is shown how this ...

Communications Surveys & Tutorials, …

Sensor networks with battery-powered nodes can seldom simultaneously meet the design goals of lifetime, cost, sensing reliability and sensing and transmission coverage. Energy-harvesting, converting ambient energy to electrical energy, has emerged as an alternative to power sensor nodes. By exploiting recharge opportunities and tuning performance parameters based on current and expected energy levels, energy harvesting sensor nodes have the potential to address the conflicting design goals of lifetime and performance. This paper surveys various aspects of energy harvesting sensor systemsarchitecture, energy sources and storage technologies and examples of harvesting-based nodes and applications. The study also discusses the implications of recharge opportunities on sensor node operation and design of sensor network solutions.

Electronics, 2020

In the past few years, the internet of things (IoT) has garnered a lot of attention owing to its significant deployment for fulfilling the global demand. It has been seen that power-efficient devices such as sensors and IoT play a significant role in our regular lives. However, the popularity of IoT sensors and low-power electronic devices is limited due to the lower lifetime of various energy resources which are needed for powering the sensors over time. For overcoming this issue, it is important to design and develop better, high-performing, and effective energy harvesting systems. In this article, different types of ambient energy harvesting systems which can power IoT-enabled sensors, as well as wireless sensor networks (WSNs), are reviewed. Various energy harvesting models which can increase the sustainability of the energy supply required for IoT devices are also discussed. Furthermore, the challenges which need to be overcome to make IoT-enabled sensors more durable, reliable, energy-efficient, and economical are identified.

MDPI Electronics, 2021

Wireless sensor network nodes and mobile devices are normally powered by batteries that, when depleted, must be recharged or replaced. This poses important problems, in particular for sensor nodes that are placed in inaccessible areas or biomedical sensors implanted in the human body where the battery replacement is very impractical. Moreover, the depleted battery must be properly disposed of in accordance with national and international regulations to prevent envi-ronmental pollution. A very interesting alternative to power mobile devices is energy harvesting where energy sources naturally present in the environment (such as sunlight, thermal gradients and vibrations) are scavenged to provide the power supply for sensor nodes and mobile systems. Since the presence of these energy sources is discontinuous in nature, electronic systems powered by energy harvesting must include a power management system and a storage device to store the scavenged energy. In this paper, the main strategies to design a wireless mobile sensor system powered by energy harvesting are reviewed and different sensor systems powered by such energy sources are presented.