Powercast’s wireless power technology, based on RF energy harvesting, was demonstrated at a recent trade show by the Government of Ontario (Canada).
(photos and details to be added)
Product Design & Development (PDD) magazine profiled energy harvesting in “The Brainstorm” section of their August 2009 issue. The questions asked of the contributors were:
“What is the future of energy harvesting? What markets will energy harvesting have the greatest impact upon?”
http://e-ditionsbyfry.com/olive/ODE/PDD/Default.aspx?href=PDD/2009/08/01
Jennic recently announced collaborations with multiple energy harvesting companies for vibration, solar, thermal, and RF energy harvesting to power wireless sensor networks based on the IEEE802.15.4 standard such as ZigBee PRO and 6LoWPAN. The companies involved included Micropelt, CYMBET, AdaptivEnergy, and Powercast.
Jennic’s wireless microcontrollers offer exceptionally low-current operation, and with advanced software based monitoring and control of the energy source, they are able to achieve the extreme efficiency demanded by systems powered by sustainable energy sources.
At Powercast, we used a 915 MHz radio transmitter and the P2100 Powerharvester(TM) module to power wirelessly, without batteries, the new JN5148 module which sent ID, voltage, and temperature readings back through the JN5139-based access point to a PC application.
Jimi Simpson, Jennic Product Marketing, explained, “Harvesting energy from sustainable sources presents designers with the ultimate power challenge: the energy supplied is not necessarily continuous and is available at relatively low levels. This means that every element of the design, from the sensor to the microcontroller, must be considered and managed to achieve the highest levels of power efficiency.”
Jennic press release (PDF)
A new energy harvesting group has been created on LinkedIn - Energy Harvesting and MicroPower.
This group is for professionals and researchers focused on products, applications, and solutions based on Energy Harvesting and MicroPower systems. Typical applications will include wireless sensors for environmental controls, building automation, condition monitoring, and energy management. Sources for Energy Harvesting and MicroPower include solar, thermal, vibration, RF, and motion.
Product Design & Develpoment is profiling the Gold award winners at the 2009 Sensors Expo, including an article on the Powercast P2100 Powerharvester(TM).
http://www.pddnet.com/news-rf-power-harvesting-070109/
AutomationWorld has published an article on energy harvesting technologies demonstrated at the 2009 Sensors Expo, including information on Powercast.
Energy Harvesting Advances
http://www.automationworld.com/news-5664
“While vibration energy harvesting may be most common for industrial applications, a different approach was being shown by Pittsburgh-based Powercast Corp. (www.powercastco.com). At its Sensors Expo show booth, the company was demonstrating its Powercaster transmitter, which was beaming a radio frequency (RF) signal toward the company’s Powerharvester receivers mounted in other nearby booths. The receivers were harvesting energy from the RF field and converting it to DC power sufficient to operate low-power sensor devices. Harry Ostaffe, Powercast director of marketing, said the company has so far deployed the technology in custom projects for military and industrial clients, with typical transmission distances “in the 10s of feet” using a three-watt transmitter.”
Power was transmitted to booths for Esensors and Infinite Power Solutions and converted back to DC with the P2100 Powerharvester. The Esensors wireless sensor was located about 35 feet from the Powercast transmitter. It was connected to a Powercast Yagi antenna module and was activated about every 90 seconds. The IPS energy cell was connected to a Powercast sleeve dipole antenna module and was pulse charged at about 25 feet. Longer charge distances were possible for both devices, but they were mounted for display purposes.
Powercast won a Gold-level “Best of Sensors Expo” Award at the 2009 Sensors Expo. The award was granted for innovation in sensor components category for the P2100 Powerharvester module. The P2100 Powerharvester converts radio waves to DC power and enables battery-free wireless sensors.
At the Sensors Expo, Powercast exhibited wireless power demonstrations with components integrated from Texas Instruments, Esensors, CAP-XX, CYMBET, Infinite Power Solutions (IPS), and NTERA. Devices were also powered remotely from the Powercast booth to the Esensors and IPS booths at distances of 35 feet and 25 feet, respectively.
Powercast participated in the new Energy Harvesting Pavilion, and conference presentations were given by Harry Ostaffe and Charlie Greene of Powercast.
At the Darnell nanoPower Forum on May 18th, Powercast and CAP-XX presented a battery-free wireless power module for wireless sensors. The module uses the Powercast P2100 Powerharvester receiver, a CAP-XX GZ 115 supercapacitor, and the Texas Instruments eZ430-RF2500 wireless board. The modules work by receiving radio waves and converting them into DC, which is then stored in the supercap. When a charge threshold is reached on the supercap, the output to the wireless sensor is turned on which activates the sensor. The sensor can have zero stand-by power instead of using a sleep mode, and power can be sent on demand, o na scheduled basis, or continuously.
The joint press release by Powercast and CAP-XX contains additional details.
Pittsburgh, PA – April 30, 2009 – Powercast, a leader in the commercialization of RF energy harvesting and wireless power solutions, announced it has joined the Texas Instruments Developer Network to support wireless powering of devices driven by TI’s MSP430. The MSP430 is a market leading, low power microcontroller embedded in numerous portable and low-power wireless devices.
Powercast’s RF energy harvesting technology and embedded wireless power solutions enable controllable wireless power, over distance, between one or more sources and multiple receivers. Devices with Powercast components can be designed for battery-free or battery-minimized operation, thereby eliminating disposable batteries and their adverse environmental impact. These devices can be dormant, with zero stand-by power, and activated remotely with power being sent on-demand, on a scheduled basis, or continuously.
“We are pleased to have Powercast join TI’s Developer Network,” said Eric Siegel, MCU developer network manager at Texas Instruments. “Combining wireless power technology with the ultra-low power consumption of the MSP430, Powercast’s innovative solutions eliminate the need to replace batteries by providing constant, unattended charge for applications in the low-power RF market.”
Powercast has also developed an integrated module for demonstrating battery-free wireless sensors. The Powercast module contains an integrated power receiving antenna, a Powerharvester™ module, energy storage, and space for a low-power wireless module like Texas Instruments eZ430-RF2500T.
“The wireless sensor market is rapidly expanding and today’s wireless sensors are predominantly powered by disposable batteries. Battery replacement creates a significant operational challenge that will greatly impact the willingness of end-users to scale sensor networks or deploy wireless sensors in hard to service locations.” said Harry Ostaffe, Director of Marketing for Powercast. “Powercast’s wireless power solutions enable battery-free designs for wireless sensor devices, and allow for lifetime operation without changing batteries.”
An article by Harry Ostaffe of Powercast was recently published in Industrial Embedded Systems.
The article is titled “Wireless power energizes wireless sensor networks”, and discusses how wireless power enabled by RF energy harvesting can provide a controllable and perpetual source of energy for wireless sensors. The opening paragraphs are included below.
Battery replacement in wireless sensors is a key factor in limiting device location and scale. Through RF energy harvesting, wireless power can recharge wireless sensors remotely and eliminate battery replacement.
Wireless sensor applications and installations continue to grow as the technology evolves. The ability to add remote sensing points without the cost of running wires is resulting in numerous benefits, including energy and material savings, process improvements, and productivity increases.
Disposable, primary batteries typically supply the main power source for wireless sensors. Primary batteries are a readily available power source and have proven to be useful in many applications. However, with primary batteries as the source of power, sensor and component companies have had to focus on decreasing power consumption to overcome the objections of maintenance cost and disruption from repeated battery changes. The resulting benefit is that wireless sensors and protocols are now sufficiently low power as to be powered from sources of energy other than primary batteries.
Energy Harvesting and Micro-Power