Open AccessENERGY HARVESTING TECHNIQUES IN WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS
Author(s) -
Tatjana R. Nikolić,
Mile K. Stojčev,
Goran Nikolić,
Goran Jovanović
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
facta universitatis. series: automatic control and robotics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1820-6425
pISSN - 1820-6417
DOI - 10.22190/fuacr1802117n
Subject(s) - energy harvesting , electronics , battery (electricity) , energy source , electrical engineering , energy (signal processing) , available energy , energy transformation , electric potential energy , computer science , thermal energy , wireless sensor network , wireless , power (physics) , engineering , renewable energy , telecommunications , physics , computer network , quantum mechanics , thermodynamics
Batteries are the main source of energy for low-power electronics such as micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS), wireless sensor networks, embedded devices for remote sensing and control, etc. With the limited capacity of finite power sources and the need for supplying energy for the lifetime of a system/device there is a requirement for self-powered devices. Using conventional batteries is not always good design solution because batteries require human intervention to replace them (very often in hard-accessible and harsh-environmental conditions). Therefore, acquiring the electrical power, by using an alternative source of energy that is needed to operate these devices is a major concern. The process of extracting energy from the surrounding environment and converting it into consumable electrical energy is known as energy harvesting or power scavenging. The energy harvesting sources can be used to increase the lifetime and capability of the devices by either replacing or augmenting the battery usage. There are various forms of energy that can be scavenged, like solar, mechanical, thermal, and electromagnetic. Nowadays, there is a big interest in the field of research related to energy harvesting. This paper represents a survey for identifying the sources of energy harvesting and describes the basic operation of principles of the most common energy harvester. As first, we present, in short, the conversion principles of single energy source harvesting systems and point to their benefits and limitations in their usage. After that, hybrid structures of energy harvesters which simultaneously combine scavenged power from different ambient sources (solar, thermoelectric, electromagnetic), with aim to support higher load at the output, are considered.