From Low Power to No Power through Energy Harvesting: Powering Up the Battery-Free World -- Nikkei Electronics Asia --November 2010 - Tech-On!

From Low Power to No Power through Energy Harvesting: Powering Up the Battery-Free World -- Nikkei Electronics Asia --November 2010 - Tech-On!

Vibration from people walking or cars crossing bridges, automobile heat, broadcasting waves and more: Energy harvesting makes it possible to utilize the uptapped energy all around us. While the available electric power is small, the world is fascinated by the concept of eliminating the need for primary batteries... More and more applications are becoming possible as the characteristics of peripheral components are improved, and high-efficiency wireless ICs running on minimal power are driving expanded introduction.

Energy harvesting refers to collecting the minute amounts of energy in our immediate surroundings, such as vibration, light, heat and electromagnetic radiation. This concept of efficiently tapping the minute amount of energy that we casually discard today is attracting enormous interest.