Energy Harvesting and Self-Powered Sensors

Energy harvesting for powering wireless sensors and IoT devices has been a research focus for over two decades. This presentation will explore the evolution of energy harvesting technologies, from early piezoelectric and electromagnetic approaches to modern photovoltaic and thermoelectric solutions.

We will discuss the challenges and opportunities in creating truly self-powered sensor systems, the trade-offs between different energy harvesting approaches, and recent advances that are making energy harvesting more practical for commercial applications. The presentation will also cover the role of MEMS technology in enabling miniaturized energy harvesters and the potential for energy harvesting to enable the trillion sensor vision by eliminating battery replacement requirements.