XMR- A Novel Vibration Harvesting System for Wireless Sensors

Wireless sensors promise to reduce the Navy’s aircraft maintenance costs via real-time monitoring of corrosion-prone components. The promise of wireless sensors lies in their reduced susceptibility to failure, reduced weight and configurational flexibility compared with conventional wired sensors. However, because of the costs of replacing batteries in sensors deployed in inaccessible locations, a significant challenge for wireless sensors is power. In this Phase I effort, TPL proposes to develop a vibration harvesting power system comprising a new vibration harvesting module developed at Washington State University and TPL’s patent-pending power management and storage system. The new harvester design is highly efficient, tunable over a broad frequency range (several 10s Hz), relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and is no larger than a stack of 3 US quarters. TPL’s power management system efficiently stores the harvested energy in electrochemical energy storage devices to efficiently meet steady state and pulse power loads (up to 500mW) as well as provide back-up power in the absence of harvestable vibrations. Designed for “ZigBee”-type applications, this system can be customized for any user-specified profile. Successful completion of the proposed effort will pave the way for a unique solution to providing power for the Navy’s remote, wireless systems.