Energy harvesting and wireless sensors: a review of recent developments

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the development of energy harvesting techniques and their use with wireless, self‐powered sensors.Design/methodology/approach – This paper first considers the need for wireless sensors and then discusses a number of products and recent development activities.Findings – Energy harvesting devices based on electrodynamic, piezoelectric and thermoelectric effects, implemented through electromechanical, microelectromechanical systems and nanotechnological approaches, are attracting strong academic and commercial interest. A limited number of sensors and systems exploiting these effects are in production and many more are under development. Some actual and anticipated applications include industrial condition monitoring, structural monitoring and healthcare.Originality/value – This provides a technical insight into energy harvesting techniques and their applications to wireless sensing.