Current Projects
Wearable energy harvesting extracts energy from the human body itself. Potential sources include body heat, motion, exhalation and even blood pressure. We primarily investigate energy generation from human motion. Low and random frequencies of human motion make conventional resonant linear energy harvesters inadequate for such applications as they cannot benefit from the peak dynamic magnification. Thus we are applying rotational configuration in our non-resonant harvester prototype. In order to optimize the design, we are studying relationships of fundamental parameters between different components of the harvester system and its limit on power generation. […]
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The goal of this project is to enable a new mode for power transfer to and communication with deeply implanted biosensors using standard ultrasonic imaging equipment. To that end we are undertaking basic studies to understand the relationships between power transfer and micro-scale receiver design, and explore the efficiency limits of an acoustic backscatter communications channel. […]
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Completed Projects
Vibration energy harvesters (VEHs) are typically designed for a very narrow set of potential forcing vibrations, which severely limits the application range of any single design. We are investigating increase the power output from (VEHs) by increasing the range of vibrations from which a given design can produce power without limiting the peak power output. We are investigating both nonlinear passive oscillators to increase the operational bandwidth as well as active methods to tune the harvester’s resonance frequency to match the forcing vibrations. […]
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Energy Harvesting for Wearables
Acoustic Power Transfer for Biomedical Implants
Vibration Energy Harvesting