Architecture exploration of multi-source energy harvester for IoT nodes

Wireless sensor networks are constrained by their energy supply. In order to relief this constraint, scavenging ambient energy from the environment has been considered. However, most existing energy harvesting devices rely on a single energy source, potentially reducing the sensor reliability. In this paper, we present an architecture for multi-source energy harvesting, aimed at low cost and easy integration with existing wireless sensors. Unlike existing architectures, our solution relies on a single power conditioning block. This block is powered by multiple sources, selected through a switch matrix by a dedicated controller. A prototype has been developed, validated and compared with alternative architectures. First results show our architecture benefits for systems using many heterogeneous sources, and highlights improvement possibilities through the addition of MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) circuitry.

[1]  Pai H. Chou,et al.  DuraCap: A supercapacitor-based, power-bootstrapping, maximum power point tracking energy-harvesting system , 2010, 2010 ACM/IEEE International Symposium on Low-Power Electronics and Design (ISLPED).

[2]  Neil M. White,et al.  Modular Plug-and-Play Power Resources for Energy-Aware Wireless Sensor Nodes , 2009, 2009 6th Annual IEEE Communications Society Conference on Sensor, Mesh and Ad Hoc Communications and Networks.

[3]  Ting Zhu,et al.  Leakage-aware energy synchronization for wireless sensor networks , 2009, MobiSys '09.

[4]  Paulo J. S. G. Ferreira,et al.  Sun, wind and water flow as energy supply for small stationary data acquisition platforms , 2008 .

[5]  R.V. White Using redundant DC power in high availability systems , 2006, Twenty-First Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition, 2006. APEC '06..

[6]  Olivier Berder,et al.  Wake-Up Interval Optimization for Sensor Networks with Rendez-vous Schemes , 2007 .

[7]  Anantha Chandrakasan,et al.  Platform architecture for solar, thermal and vibration energy combining with MPPT and single inductor , 2011, 2011 Symposium on VLSI Circuits - Digest of Technical Papers.

[8]  Pai H. Chou,et al.  AmbiMax: Autonomous Energy Harvesting Platform for Multi-Supply Wireless Sensor Nodes , 2006, 2006 3rd Annual IEEE Communications Society on Sensor and Ad Hoc Communications and Networks.