Infinite Power for the Worlds Smallest Machines
As our progress towards the ‘Internet of Things’ marches ever onward, the question of how to power the many thousands of sensors and miniature electronic gizmos that will inevitably litter our future homes, offices and most likely, bodies, may have now been answered. The Singapore Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) has developed a method of harvesting low-frequency vibrations to provide indefinite electrical power for any miniature device.
Professor Dim-Lee Kwong of A*STAR’s Institute of Microelectronics stated “This breakthrough presents tremendous opportunities to realise a practical, sustainable and efficient energy renewal model with attractive small-form factor, low cost solution for a wide range of applications from implantable medical devices, wireless communication and sensor networks, to other mobile electronics that enable future mobile society…
…IME researchers have demonstrated an aluminium nitride (AlN) based energy harvester with record-high power density of 1.5 x 10-3 W/cm3 capable of generating electricity equivalent to three commercial implantable batteries over a 10-year period. As an inexorable power supply, the remarkable power density feature translates into massive savings as costs and logistics associated with power source servicing will no longer be relevant.”
Source: http://www.a-star.edu.sg/Media/News/Press-Releases/ID/2544/Harvesting-Vibrations-To-Power-Microsensors.aspx
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