Symposium 3: Power Management: Energy Harvesting & Storage

Moderator |  Randy Frank  | President | Randy Frank & Associates, Ltd.
7 Jun, 2010 | 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Energy harvesting, or scavenging as it is frequently called, provides new opportunities for sensor manufacturers in applications that would otherwise have difficulty obtaining a reliable power source or require batteries and the associated replacement effort and costs. Several techniques exist for converting mechanical or electrical energy, light, or temperature differences into energy for powering sensors including piezoelectric, radio frequency, inductive coupling, wind and solar power. In addition to exploring the various energy harvesting technologies, other system aspects that will be addressed in this full-day symposium include high efficiency, low-power microcontrollers, wireless connectivity and advanced batteries. By focusing on existing energy harvesting products with real-world experience, attendees will have new tools to consider in the design of next-generation sensor systems.

Session Preview

Symposium Participants and Topics include:

Energy Harvesting Session Kick-off
Randy Frank, Randy Frank & Associates
9:00-9:30 am Multimode Energy Harvesting Using an Energy Processor
Steve Grady, Cymbet
9:30-10:00 am Energy Harvesters and Energy Harvesting Circuits for Wireless Sensors
Jake Galbreath, MicroStrain
10:00-10:15 am Break
10:15-10:45 am Bridging the Power Gap between Energy Harvesters and Peak-power Applications Using Supercapacitors
Pierre Mars, CAP-XX
10:45-11:15 am Thermal Energy Harvesting: Market-Ready Solutions for Modern Wireless Sensors
Burkhard Habbe, Micropelt
11:15-11:45 am Thermoharvesting Passes Field Test in Process Environment
Wally Baker, Emerson Process
11:45-12:45 pm Lunch
12:45-1:15 pm Design Considerations for RF Energy Harvesting Devices
Harry Ostaffe, Powercast
1:15-1:45 pm Practical Examples of Autonomously-Powered Sensing Modules Using Energy Harvesting
Joe Keating, Infinite Power Solutions
1:45-2:15 pm Piezoelectric Power Generation for Desired Applications Using the Flexible Fiber Composite Transducer
Hyeoungwoo Kim, Advanced Cerametrics, Inc.
2:15-2:45 pm Bridging the Gap between Energy Harvesting Power Supplies and Wireless Sensor Applications
Anurag Kasyap, AdaptivEnergy
2:45-3:00 pm Break
3:00-3:30 pm Eco-Intelligent Vibration Energy Harvester Power Solutions for Wireless Monitoring
Keith Abate, Perpetuum
3:30-4:00 pm Practical Design Considerations for Piezoelectric & Thermal Energy Harvesting (Part 1)
Brian Shaffer, Linear Technology
4:00-4:15 pm Practical Design Considerations for Piezoelectric &  Thermal Energy Harvesting (Part 2)
Brian Shaffer, Linear Technology
4:15-4:30 pm Scavenging Energy from Low-frequency and Arbitrary Vibrations
Tzeno Galchev, Enertia Energy Systems
4:30-5:00 pm Customer Education for Energy Harvesting Applications
Chris Ludlow, Mide