Review on the operation of wearable sensors through body heat harvesting based on thermoelectric devices

The development of wearable sensors is currently receiving considerable attention owing to their potential usefulness in real-time health monitoring during ongoing assessments of personal health. The generation of thermoelectric power from body heat offers an attractive solution to supply power to these wearable devices. This review highlights the successes of flexible thermoelectric generators that have been achieved to date and also alludes to the remaining problems regarding the operation of wearable sensors based on power generated from harvested body heat. Specifically, appropriate simulation based on human thermoregulatory models, flexible heat sinks, electronics, and energy storage devices are relevant because their development would have to occur alongside that of wearable sensors to enable the implementation of these sensors in practice.

[1]  Dongkeon Lee,et al.  High power output based on watch-strap-shaped body heat harvester using bulk thermoelectric materials , 2019, Energy.

[2]  Muhsin Kilic,et al.  Investigation of indoor thermal comfort under transient conditions , 2005 .

[3]  E. Wissler,et al.  Pennes' 1948 paper revisited. , 1998, Journal of applied physiology.

[4]  V. J. Babu,et al.  The Design of a Thermoelectric Generator and Its Medical Applications , 2019, Designs.

[5]  Shahab Mehraeen,et al.  Survey of energy scavenging for wearable and implantable devices , 2019, Energy.

[6]  Chulki Kim,et al.  Wearable thermoelectric generator for harvesting human body heat energy , 2014 .

[7]  H. Hng,et al.  Fabrication of flexible thermoelectric thin film devices by inkjet printing. , 2014, Small.

[8]  S. Tanabe,et al.  Evaluation of thermal comfort using combined multi-node thermoregulation (65MN) and radiation models and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) , 2002 .

[9]  Uli Lemmer,et al.  Organic Semiconductors for Thermoelectric Applications , 2010 .

[10]  Woochul Kim,et al.  Self-charging wearables for continuous health monitoring , 2021 .

[11]  Qingshuo Wei,et al.  Stable organic thermoelectric devices for self-powered sensor applications , 2020 .

[12]  T. Nagao,et al.  Radiative cooling for continuous thermoelectric power generation in day and night , 2020 .

[13]  Wei-Hsin Liao,et al.  Self-powered smart watch and wristband enabled by embedded generator , 2020 .

[14]  Hulin Zhang,et al.  Wireless Power Transmission Enabled by a Triboelectric Nanogenerator via a Magnetic Interaction , 2019, Energy Technology.

[15]  S. Oh,et al.  Biocompatible and sustainable power supply for self-powered wearable and implantable electronics using III-nitride thin-film-based flexible piezoelectric generator , 2019, Nano Energy.

[16]  Y. D. Deng,et al.  Multi-Objective Optimization Design for Cooling Unit of Automotive Exhaust-Based Thermoelectric Generators , 2015, Journal of Electronic Materials.

[17]  H. H. Pennes.  Analysis of tissue and arterial blood temperatures in the resting human forearm. 1948. , 1948, Journal of applied physiology.

[18]  Dongkeon Lee,et al.  Liquid-metal-electrode-based compact, flexible, and high-power thermoelectric device , 2019 .

[19]  E FESSENDEN,et al.  Electrical analog simulation of temperature regulation in man. , 1961, NADC-MA-. United States. Naval Air Development Center, Johnsville, Pa. Aviation Medical Acceleration Laboratory.

[20]  N. Singh,et al.  Charge carriers modulation and thermoelectric performance of intrinsically p-type Bi2Te3 by Ge doping , 2018 .

[21]  W. Weng,et al.  Review on modeling heat transfer and thermoregulatory responses in human body. , 2016, Journal of thermal biology.

[22]  Kai Sirén,et al.  A new approach using the Pierce two-node model for different body parts , 2011, International journal of biometeorology.

[23]  Siew-Chong Tan,et al.  Adaptive Mixed On-Time and Switching Frequency Control of a System of Interleaved Switched-Capacitor Converters , 2011, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics.

[24]  Luca Benini,et al.  InfiniTime: Multi-sensor wearable bracelet with human body harvesting , 2016, Sustain. Comput. Informatics Syst..

[25]  Mehmet C. Öztürk,et al.  Designing thermoelectric generators for self-powered wearable electronics , 2016 .

[26]  Wenlong Jin,et al.  A Flexible Self‐Powered Sensing Element with Integrated Organic Thermoelectric Generator , 2019, Advanced Materials Technologies.

[27]  Hwanjoo Park,et al.  Mat-like flexible thermoelectric system based on rigid inorganic bulk materials , 2017 .

[28]  Weishu Liu,et al.  System efficiency and power: the bridge between the device and system of a thermoelectric power generator , 2020 .

[29]  Santiago Orrego,et al.  Harvesting ambient wind energy with an inverted piezoelectric flag , 2017 .

[30]  K. Zhang,et al.  Engineered doping of organic semiconductors for enhanced thermoelectric efficiency. , 2013, Nature materials.

[31]  K. Cai,et al.  High Performance and Flexible Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone/Ag/Ag2Te Ternary Composite Film for Thermoelectric Power Generator. , 2019, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[32]  Ashutosh Kumar Singh,et al.  Free-standing flexible multiwalled carbon nanotubes paper for wearable thermoelectric power generator , 2020 .

[33]  Alireza Zolfaghari,et al.  A new simplified thermoregulatory bioheat model for evaluating thermal response of the human body to transient environments , 2010 .

[34]  Kamal K. Kar,et al.  Recent advances in thermoelectric materials , 2016 .

[35]  X. D. Xie,et al.  Wind energy harvesting with a piezoelectric harvester , 2013 .

[36]  Joseph Richardson,et al.  High-performance and flexible thermoelectric films by screen printing solution-processed nanoplate crystals , 2016, Scientific Reports.

[37]  Jayant Sirohi,et al.  Harvesting Wind Energy Using a Galloping Piezoelectric Beam , 2012 .

[38]  Lasse Rosendahl,et al.  A comparison of micro-structured flat-plate and cross-cut heat sinks for thermoelectric generation application , 2015 .

[39]  Matthew Dargusch,et al.  Thermoelectric Generators: Alternative Power Supply for Wearable Electrocardiographic Systems , 2020, Advanced science.

[40]  Shiho Kim.  Analysis and modeling of effective temperature differences and electrical parameters of thermoelectric generators , 2013 .

[41]  Dimuthu Wijethunge,et al.  Simplified human thermoregulatory model for designing wearable thermoelectric devices , 2018 .

[42]  Jie Chen,et al.  Modeling, experiments and optimization of an on-pipe thermoelectric generator , 2016 .

[43]  Sheng Xu,et al.  Wearable thermoelectrics for personalized thermoregulation , 2019, Science Advances.

[44]  Yong Du,et al.  Flexible thermoelectric materials and devices , 2018, Applied Materials Today.

[45]  Wenzhuo Wu,et al.  Inkjet‐Printed Wearable Nanosystems for Self‐Powered Technologies , 2020, Advanced Materials Interfaces.

[46]  SeongHwan Cho,et al.  Self-Powered Wearable Electrocardiography Using a Wearable Thermoelectric Power Generator , 2018 .

[47]  James W. Evans,et al.  Dispenser-printed planar thick-film thermoelectric energy generators , 2011 .

[48]  S. Fan,et al.  Generating Light from Darkness , 2019, Joule.

[49]  F. Yakuphanoglu,et al.  Electrical Conductivity, Thermoelectric Power, and Optical Properties of Organo-Soluble Polyaniline Organic Semiconductor , 2008 .

[50]  Takao Ishida,et al.  Polymer thermoelectric modules screen-printed on paper , 2014 .

[51]  Kyle Pietrzyk,et al.  Power generation modeling for a wearable thermoelectric energy harvester with practical limitations , 2016 .

[52]  Sheng-Chung Tzeng,et al.  Parametric study of heat-transfer design on the thermoelectric generator system , 2014 .

[53]  D E Lemons,et al.  Theory and experiment for the effect of vascular microstructure on surface tissue heat transfer--Part II: Model formulation and solution. , 1984, Journal of biomechanical engineering.

[54]  Mehmet C. Öztürk,et al.  Flexible thermoelectric generator using bulk legs and liquid metal interconnects for wearable electronics , 2017 .

[55]  Rong Zhu,et al.  A fully self-powered wearable monitoring system with systematically optimized flexible thermoelectric generator , 2020 .

[56]  Liyun Ding,et al.  Thermoelectric Generator Using Space Cold Source. , 2019, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[57]  C. Liao,et al.  Screen-printed flexible thermoelectric generator with directional heat collection design , 2020 .

[58]  Yao-Shing Chen,et al.  Large-Area Laying of Soft Textile Power Generators for the Realization of Body Heat Harvesting Clothing , 2019, Coatings.

[59]  H. Hassan,et al.  Enhancement thermoelectric generators output power from heat recovery of chimneys by using flaps , 2019 .

[60]  Shihong Xu,et al.  Highly conductive, ultra-flexible and continuously processable PEDOT:PSS fibers with high thermoelectric properties for wearable energy harvesting , 2020 .

[61]  Kumar Gaurav,et al.  Calculation of Efficiency and Power Output by Considering Different Realistic Prospects for Recovering Heat from Automobile using Thermoelectric Generator , 2017 .

[62]  F. G. Benedict,et al.  A Biometric Study of Human Basal Metabolism. , 1918, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[63]  B. Cho,et al.  A wearable thermoelectric generator fabricated on a glass fabric , 2014 .

[64]  J. M. Baik,et al.  Wearable solar thermoelectric generator driven by unprecedentedly high temperature difference , 2017 .

[65]  E. Liang,et al.  Cotton-based naturally wearable power source for self-powered personal electronics , 2019, Journal of Materials Science.

[66]  Issa F. Almesri,et al.  Models of human thermoregulation and the prediction of local and overall thermal sensations , 2011 .

[67]  J. Bahk,et al.  Flexible thermoelectric materials and device optimization for wearable energy harvesting , 2015 .

[68]  Abhiman Hande,et al.  Indoor solar energy harvesting for sensor network router nodes , 2007, Microprocess. Microsystems.

[69]  Alic Chen,et al.  Dispenser printed circular thermoelectric devices using Bi and Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 , 2014 .

[70]  Byung Jin Cho,et al.  Structural design of a flexible thermoelectric power generator for wearable applications , 2018 .

[71]  Long Lin,et al.  Pyroelectric nanogenerators for harvesting thermoelectric energy. , 2012, Nano letters.

[72]  Fan Wu,et al.  Real-Time Performance of a Self-Powered Environmental IoT Sensor Network System , 2017, Sensors.

[73]  B. Cho,et al.  Flexible heatsink based on a phase-change material for a wearable thermoelectric generator , 2019, Energy.

[74]  D. Astrain,et al.  Experimental investigation of the applicability of a thermoelectric generator to recover waste heat from a combustion chamber , 2015 .

[75]  Chun-Ching Hsiao,et al.  Study on Pyroelectric Harvesters with Various Geometry , 2015, Sensors.

[76]  Edward Arens,et al.  Indoor Environmental Quality ( IEQ ) Title A model of human physiology and comfort for assessing complex thermal environments , 2001 .

[77]  Nazakat Ali Khoso,et al.  Controlled template-free in-situ polymerization of PEDOT for enhanced thermoelectric performance on textile substrate , 2019 .

[78]  V. Roy,et al.  Wearable and flexible thin film thermoelectric module for multi-scale energy harvesting , 2020, Journal of Power Sources.

[79]  Kwang-Suk Jang,et al.  Enhancement of Thermoelectric Properties of PEDOT:PSS and Tellurium-PEDOT:PSS Hybrid Composites by Simple Chemical Treatment , 2015, Scientific Reports.

[80]  C. Hierold,et al.  Thermal Harvesting Potential of the Human Body , 2018, Journal of Electronic Materials.

[81]  Jun Chen,et al.  Smart Textiles for Electricity Generation. , 2020, Chemical reviews.

[82]  Hwanjoo Park,et al.  Flexible thermoelectric power generation system based on rigid inorganic bulk materials , 2017 .

[83]  Robert Freer,et al.  Realising the potential of thermoelectric technology: a Roadmap , 2020, Journal of Materials Chemistry C.

[84]  A. C. Burton.  THE RANGE AND VARIABILITY OF THE BLOOD FLOW IN THE HUMAN FINGERS AND THE VASOMOTOR REGULATION OF BODY TEMPERATURE , 1939 .

[85]  Rajeevan Amirtharajah,et al.  Integrated Solar Energy Harvesting and Storage , 2009, IEEE Transactions on Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) Systems.

[86]  P. Webb.  Temperatures of skin, subcutaneous tissue, muscle and core in resting men in cold, comfortable and hot conditions , 2004, European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology.

[87]  Satoru Takada,et al.  Thermal model of human body fitted with individual characteristics of body temperature regulation , 2009 .

[88]  Ravi Anant Kishore,et al.  High Power Density Body Heat Energy Harvesting. , 2019, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[89]  Woochul Kim,et al.  New evaluation parameter for wearable thermoelectric generators , 2018 .

[90]  Dongkeon Lee,et al.  High power output from body heat harvesting based on flexible thermoelectric system with low thermal contact resistance , 2018, Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics.

[91]  Sanjib Kumar Panda,et al.  Self-Autonomous Wireless Sensor Nodes With Wind Energy Harvesting for Remote Sensing of Wind-Driven Wildfire Spread , 2011, IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement.

[92]  Aydogan Ozcan,et al.  Wearable and Implantable Sensors for Biomedical Applications. , 2018, Annual review of analytical chemistry.

[93]  Veena Misra,et al.  Flexible thermoelectric generators for body heat harvesting – Enhanced device performance using high thermal conductivity elastomer encapsulation on liquid metal interconnects , 2020 .

[94]  Jia‐Horng Lin,et al.  Flexible and wearable wristband for harvesting human body heat based on coral-like PEDOT:Tos-coated nanofibrous film , 2020, Smart materials and structures (Print).

[95]  Zichen Chen,et al.  Wearable thermoelectric generator for harvesting heat on the curved human wrist , 2017 .

[96]  Oscar Lopez-Lapena,et al.  A New MPPT Method for Low-Power Solar Energy Harvesting , 2010, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics.

[97]  Kenneth R. Holmes,et al.  MICROVASCULAR CONTRIBUTIONS IN TISSUE HEAT TRANSFER , 1980, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[98]  Deqing Mei,et al.  Wearable thermoelectric generator to harvest body heat for powering a miniaturized accelerometer , 2018 .

[99]  V. Parsonnet,et al.  Thirty‐One Years of Clinical Experience with “Nuclear‐Powered” Pacemakers , 2006, Pacing and clinical electrophysiology : PACE.

[100]  Zichen Chen,et al.  Wearable Thermoelectric Generator With Copper Foam as the Heat Sink for Body Heat Harvesting , 2018, IEEE Access.

[101]  K. Lomas,et al.  A computer model of human thermoregulation for a wide range of environmental conditions: the passive system. , 1999, Journal of applied physiology.

[102]  Aida Todri,et al.  Energy Autonomous Wearable Sensors for Smart Healthcare: A Review , 2019, Journal of The Electrochemical Society.

[103]  J. A. J. Stolwijk,et al.  Temperature regulation in man — A theoretical study , 1966, Pflüger's Archiv für die gesamte Physiologie des Menschen und der Tiere.