A versatile vibration energy harvesting platform based on a triboelectricity is proposed and analyzed. External mechanical vibration repeats an oscillating motion of a polymer-coated metal oscillator floating inside a surrounding tube. Continuous sidewall friction at the contact interface of the oscillator induces current between the inner oscillator electrode and the outer tube electrode to co...

Energy harvesting technologies that are engineered to miniature sizes, while still increasing the power delivered to wireless electronics, (1, 2) portable devices, stretchable electronics, (3) and implantable biosensors, (4, 5) are strongly desired. Piezoelectric nanowire- and nanofiber-based generators have potential uses for powering such devices through a conversion of mechanical energy into...

This paper numerically estimates the potential, the output power and the energy conversion efficiency of piezoelectric nanostructures, including rectangular nanowires NWs , hexagonal NWs, and two-dimensional vertical thin films the nanofins . Static analysis studies the maximum piezoelectric potential that can be produced by a BaTiO3 NW, a ZnO NW, and a ZnO nanofin when they are subjected to a ...

The harvesting of processing tomatoes is fully mechanised and it is well known that during harvest, fruits are subjected to mechanical stress causing physical injuries, including skin punctures, pulp and cell rupture. Some wireless sensors have been used for research during recent years with the main purpose of reducing the quality loss of tomato fruits by diminishing the number and intensity o...

The growing availability of low-power sensors, microprocessors, and transmitters makes it increasingly attractive to use distributed sensor networks for track-health monitoring. Widespread implementation of these networks will require robust and low-maintenance methods for powering the electronics. This research investigates two principal methods of harvesting mechanical power from passing rail...

Automation in cherry harvesting is essential to reduce the demand for seasonal labor for cherry picking and reduce the cost of production. The mechanical shaking of tree branches is one of the widely studied and used techniques for harvesting small tree fruit crops like cherries. To automate the branch shaking operation, different methods of detecting branches and cherries in full foliage canop...

Eric Yeatman Optical and Semiconductor Devices Group, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom We propose a new way to deliver power to biomedical implants in order to address the higher energy requirements of microsystems with actuation functions such as drug release or mechanical adj...