Energy Harvesting for Powering Wireless Sensors in the IoT - Tutorials
(Room 102 AB)
09 Jun 15
9:30 AM
-
5:30 PM
Tracks:
Energy Harvesting, Energy Harvesting for Wireless Sensor Networks, Pre-Conference Symposium
Speaker(s):
Robert Andosca, President, INVISIA; Nigel Atherton, Founder, Joulefusion; Kathleen Vaeth, VP of Engineering, MicroGen Systems, Inc.; Mark Buccini, Advanced Product Platforms, Texas Instruments; Mark Jakusovszky, US Marketing Manager, EM Electronic; Mike Deatherage, Marketing Manager, Power Generation, II-V Marlow; Randy Frank, President, Randy Frank & Associates, Ltd.; Sam Nork, Design Director, Linear Technology Corporation; Steve Grady, VP of Marketing, Cymbet Corporation
Sensors are among the mostly frequently cited additions to connectivity in the Internet of Things (IoT). However, wirelessly connected sensors pose a major problem when considering batteries as the sole source of power - battery life. Converting the available energy from a variety of sources to electricity, or energy harvesting, provides an alternative to frequently changing batteries in wireless sensing applications. Popular techniques to harvest energy for sensing applications include photovoltaic, thermoelectric, piezoelectric, electrodynamic and even wind. While energy harvesting is not a solution for every wireless sensing node, it is being successfully applied in industrial, consumer and other applications. As in most system problems, there are technical and cost constraints. Presenters in this session have a full hour to provide an in-depth analysis of the challenges and solutions of using energy harvesting techniques of varying types for powering sensors in wireless applications. In addition to exploring the energy harvesting technologies, other system aspects will be addressed including high efficiency, low-power microcontrollers, wireless connectivity, and power management. By explaining the design-in requirements for existing energy harvesting products in real-world applications, attendees will have new tools to consider in the design of their next-generation sensor systems. Session attendees will leave with an improved understanding of: how to match the energy harvesting technology to specific applications, the importance of the energy/power budget, the current status of available technologies, and technology direction from industry leaders. Moderated by Randy Frank from Randy Frank & Associates with committed experts from Cymbet Corporation, MicroGen Systems, Linear Technology Corporation, II-VI Marlow, Texas Instruments and Em-Micro.