Energy production of all types – coal, nuclear, gas, wind, solar – accounts for 72% of all CO2 emissions, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. In 2018, energy-related carbon emissions grew 1.7%, to a staggering all-time high of 33.1 gigatonnes. The world is racing to adhere to the guidelines set out in […]
If the energy production of all human being is combined, how does this compare to the global energy demand? How much electricity could be generated if every living human would wear a thermal energy harvesting bracelet? Can this power all our electrical appliances? In the movie The Matrix, intelligent machines are exploiting humans as a […]
Ambient energy is changing constantly in magnitude and availability. Hybrid energy harvesting systems can prevent power shortages by tapping into several energy sources in parallel. Energy availability Energy in form of light, heat and movement is abundant in our environment and the last two can even be produced by our own body. However, ambient sources […]
Universal design describes the design of products, buildings or environments in a way that they are accessible to everyone, regardless of age, gender, disabilities, the location or other factors. Energy harvesting could contribute to universal and barrier-free products by eliminating the dependency on the energy grid. Originating from barrier-free concepts in the 1960s, universal design […]
The energy grid is getting decentralized by utilization of renewable energy sources and local storage capabilities. This will contribute to increase the availability of electrical energy globally. Regardless, we will always have a demand for portable energy that is used by low-power wearables. Energy harvesters are a promising alternative to batteries to supplement a future […]
Wearables are on the rise and emerge from the shadow of smart phones to our everyday life. Already, fitness trackers and smart-watches became part of our consumer environment. Now, wearable health monitors and emergency devices conquer the medical and defense sector. Future wearables might interface even closer with clothing or the human body to provide […]
Energy harvesting is a process by which wireless and autonomous devices are able to capture, convert and store energy from external environmental sources like light, heat or motion. Ideally, these devices can be powered partially or completely by harvested energy, so that batteries and the power grid become redundant. The idea of energy harvesting is […]
When we talk about the power supply for mobile devices, we instantly think of batteries. But since the beginning of the 20th century, researchers and engineers try to use the human body as a renewable source of electrical energy. Since the 1940s, hand crank-powered radio transmitters were used to compensate for shortcomings in energy availability. […]
You‘ve been in this situation before. Your mobile phone is running out of battery while you still want to use it. Or your battery capacity is so low, you need to charge your phone twice a day. The problem is: The energy you consume is not produced where you need it. With you. Dating […]
