Exploiting energy from the air environment

Scientists at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA, discovered a way to capture and exploit energy transmitted through sources such as radio and television, networks. Mobile grid and satellite communication system. This is a new technique that can collect energy from the air environment around us, and the types of energy emitted from the electrical networks of wireless sensors, microprocessors and communication chips.

" There exists a large amount of electromagnetic energy around us, but no one has exploited it ," said Manos Tentzeris, a professor working at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA. head of this research. " We are using an ultra-wide band antenna that allows to exploit a wide range of signals in different frequency bands, in order to increase the ability to collect energy ."

Tentzeris and his team are using inkjet printers combining sensors, antennas and conducting energy collection on paper or on complex polymer sheets. Utilizing the energy emitted from wireless sensors that can be used in the fields of chemistry, biology, heat sensors and pressure in the defense industry, tag radio frequency identification (RFID) for products in production and transportation, and on monitoring tasks in many areas including communication and energy use communication.

Ambient energy is declared
cascade for small electronic devices

A presentation on energy collection technology from the air environment was presented at the IEEE Antennas Symposium and Propaganda, in Spokane, Washington, USA, on July 6, 2011. This finding Based on research supported by many sponsors, including the National Science Foundation, Japan's New Energy and Federal Highway Administration and Technology Technical Development Organization (NEDO).

For communication devices that transmit energy in different frequency bands, or in different interference patterns. The team's energy collection device can capture this energy, convert AC electricity from DC to DC, and then store it in capacitors and batteries. This energy-gathering technology can help take advantage of the abundant energy source of frequencies emitted by FM radio stations, or from radars within the 100 megahertz (MHz) coverage range of 15 gigahertz (GHz) or higher.

Experiments that collect energy from the use of television bands have yielded up to hundreds of microwatts, and the multi-band system is expected to generate one milliwatt or more. That is enough electricity to run small electronic devices, including a wide range of sensors and microprocessors.

And by combining energy-gathering technology with supercapacitors and cycling, the Georgia Institute of Technology team hopes to be able to operate electrical devices that require more than 50 milliwatts . In this method, energy is accumulated in a supercapacitor like a battery and used when the required energy level is achieved.

Researchers have successfully operated a temperature sensor that uses electrical energy obtained from a television station located 0.5km away. They are preparing a demonstration in which a microcontroller-based microprocessor will be activated simply by keeping it in the air.

Harness a range of electromagnetic interference patterns to increase the reliability of energy collection devices, according to Tentzeris, a researcher and lecturer at the Georgia Electronic Design Center, Georgia Institute of Technology. If a temporary frequency range due to use variations is lost, the system can still exploit other frequencies.

Energy collection devices can operate independently or in combination with other equivalent technological equipment . For example, combined with a device that takes advantage of solar energy to charge the battery during the day. At night, when solar cells do not provide energy, the energy collector will continue to charge the battery or may prevent power loss.

To use electrical energy from the surrounding environment, we can also provide a backup system. If the battery or solar energy collection device is broken, the energy gathering device may allow the wireless signal transmission system to alert, while at the same time maintaining its important function.

Researchers are using inkjet technology to create energy-collecting devices on paper or on paper-like composite polymers, a technique they have used to produce sensors. and antenna. The result will be the introduction of a self-powered, low-cost, wireless paper sensor that can operate independently almost anywhere.

To integrate circuit components and circuits, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology use a standard inkjet printer. However, they added what Tentzeris called a " secret recipe containing silver nanoparticles or other nanoparticles in emulsions ." This approach allows the team to create not only RF components and circuits, but also create new sensors based on nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes.

When Tentzeris and his team started the antenna inkjet technology in 2006, paper-based printing circuits only operated at frequencies of 100 or 200 MHz, according to Rushi Vyas, a graduate student working with Tentzeris and Fellowship Vasileios Lakafosis in several projects.

" Now we can create printed circuits capable of operating up to 15 GHz - 60 GHz if we create printed circuits on polymer plastics ," Vyas said. " So we have seen an improvement in frequency activity before the intensity requirement ."

Researchers believe wireless wireless devices that use sensors with paper-based printed circuits will soon be widely available at very low cost. The increase in results of autonomous, inexpensive sensors can be used for applications including:

- Airport security: The airport has both security concerns and a large amount of energy available in the surroundings from radar and communication sources. These dual factors create the natural environment for the operation of a large number of wireless sensors capable of detecting potential threats such as explosives, smuggling nuclear materials.

- Energy saving: Wireless sensors are self-supporting, self-propelled devices, located throughout the house that can provide continuous monitoring of temperature and humidity conditions, resulting in very economical savings. Significant in heating and air conditioning costs. And unlike many current sensors, environmentally friendly paper-based sensors will quickly disintegrate themselves in landfills.

- The structural integrity of paper or polymer-based sensors can be placed permanently in different types of structures to track abnormal conditions. Self-contained sensors in buildings, bridges or planes can quietly analyze problems, perhaps for years, and then automatically transmit signals when they detect an abnormal condition.

- Food and perishable materials and quality monitoring: Self-sustaining wireless sensors are fixed on perishable foods that can scan chemicals that show spoilage and send an early warning if they discovered the problem.

- Mobile biological monitoring device: The latest wireless technology, which can be widely used to independently observe medical issues, treat patients.