Kinetic Energy Harvesting Toward Battery-Free IoT: Fundamentals, Co-Design Necessity and Prospects

Abstract: Energy harvesting (EH) technology is developed with the purpose of harnessing ambient energy in different physical forms. Although the available ambient energy is usually tiny, not comparable to the centralized power generation, it brings out the convenience of onsite power generation by drawing energy from local sources, which meets the emerging power demand of long-lasting, extensively-deployed, and maintenance-free Internet of Things(IoT). Kinetic energy harvesting (KEH) is one of the most promising EH solutions toward the realization of battery-free IoT. The KEH-based battery-free IoT can be extensively deployed in the smart home, smart building, and smart city scenarios, enabling perceptivity, intelligence, and connectivity in many infrastructures. This paper gives a brief introduction to the configurations and basic principles of practical KEH-IoT systems, including their mechanical, electrical, and computing parts. Although there are already a few commercial products in some specific application markets, the understanding and practice in the co-design and optimization of a single KEH-IoT device are far from mature, let alone the conceived multia gent energy-autonomous intelligent systems. Future research and development of the KEHIoT system beckons for more exchange and collaboration among mechanical, electrical, and computer engineers toward general design guidelines to cope with these interdisciplinary engineering problems.
Keywords: kinetic energy harvesting; battery-free solution; Internet of Things; co-design