No abstract

The present paper introduces commercial components, circuit techniques and design considerations for energy harvesting power supplies in mobile communications. Transforming voltage levels is discussed as well as considerations to use energy storage elements. Furthermore a control method to decrease the power consumption of the communication module is presented. A hardware demonstrator with fully energy-autarkic thermo-electrical power supply is introduced. At last visions of the power supplies future for mobile devices are outlined

Wearable health sensors are about to change our health system. While several technological improvements have been presented to enhance performance and energy-efficiency, battery runtime is still a critical concern for practical use of wearable biomedical sensor systems. The runtime limitation is directly related to the battery size, which is another concern regarding practicality and customer acceptance. We introduced ULPSEK-Ultra-Low-Power Sensor Evaluation Kit-for evaluation of biomedical sensors and monitoring applications (http://ulpsek.com). ULPSEK includes a multiparameter sensor measuring and processing electrocardiogram, respiration, motion, body temperature, and photoplethysmography. Instead of a battery, ULPSEK is powered using an efficient body heat harvester. The harvester produced 171 W on average, which was sufficient to power the sensor below 25 C ambient temperature. We present design issues regarding the power supply and the power distribution network of the ULPSEK sensor platform. Due to the security aspect of self-powered health sensors, we suggest a hybrid solution consisting of a battery charged by a harvester.

No abstract

No abstract