Energy harvesting systems for the Internet of Things are extremely important

As device manufacturers develop energy harvesting systems more efficiently, the IoT will become more useful and flexible.

Many industry applications do not have reliable power sources, and the Internet of Things is one of them. Often, connected devices can only rely on battery power, which increases costs and limits the effectiveness of their applications. In some cases, reliable power is available but undesirable. For example, a door or window sensor can be plugged into the nearest outlet or have power run through the wall, but this greatly increases installation costs and introduces potential security vulnerabilities. This makes battery life one of the biggest obstacles for IoT systems today.

Energy Harvesting Solutions

Batteries currently cannot sustain the full life cycle of a sensor, which leaves system designers with two choices: either let the battery dictate the life of the sensor, or replace the sensor battery.

Image source: Smart2Sensor

One technology being developed to address this problem is "energy harvesting." Energy harvesting refers to the practice of taking energy from ambient sources to power devices. This is how weather sensors on farms can use solar power to replenish battery power. In other cases, such as wearables, the wearer's kinetic energy can be harnessed. This has big implications for the Internet of Things. It can increase the life of a system while reducing maintenance.

Searching for the "forever battery"

At CES 2019, Leverege had the opportunity to speak with David Su and Srinivas Pattamatta, CEO and VP of Atmosic Technologies, respectively. They introduced Leverege to the concept of “forever batteries”, where the battery can be used forever without replacement until the device itself fails or is made obsolete by emerging technologies. Their solution already promises this, with the M3 chip supporting Bluetooth 5, which saves 5 to 10 times the power consumption of existing Bluetooth 5 solutions. In addition to this, they also make the device smarter by utilizing sleep states as much as possible and waking up only when the device needs to report or needs to perform its function. With these improvements, power usage is minimized, making energy harvesting methods viable throughout the device lifecycle.

Controllable Energy Harvesting

One thing that David and Srinivas from Atmosic emphasized during the talk was their concept of "Controllable Energy Harvesting". The concept of energy harvesting is widely used, meaning there is free energy everywhere that can be used on demand. When designing an IoT device, you need to understand the available energy sources and know which one can continuously provide enough energy to drive the device. For example, while a wireless keyboard can only be powered by a laptop, you can't expect a solar cell to power the device in a dark room.

As energy harvesting improves, the utility of IoT devices will continue to increase. The cost of maintaining and operating systems will continue to decrease, making IoT more accessible and pervasive.