New Energy Harvesting Network means batteries not included

Date added: Thursday 25th February 2010

A new Energy Harvesting Network to be launched on 01 March 2010 could mean unlimited power supplies for industry.

The Network, which is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and will be managed by the University of Southampton's School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS), will bring together UK academic and industrial researchers and end-users of energy harvesting (EH) technology.

It will be launched on Monday 1 March, at which point researchers and industrialists are invited to contribute to the Network website (<a href="http://eh-network.org">www.eh-network.org</a>) where news and events will be regularly posted.

EH is a means of powering wireless electronic devices by scavenging many low grade ambient energy sources, such as environmental vibrations, human motion, thermal gradients and light so that they can be converted into usable electrical energy.

These devices are therefore potentially attractive as replacements for primary batteries in low power wireless sensor nodes. They also hold the possibility of one day enabling the powering of a range of devices not currently possible, including implantable and wearable medical devices.

ECS and its spin-out company Perpetuum are global leaders in energy harvesting systems and ECS co-ordinated the European Union-funded VIBES project which developed miniature electromagnetic and piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters.

The Network will work to define new research challenges and stimulate collaborative research proposals. It will also ensure more effective dissemination on the current and future capabilities of energy harvesting technologies to all potential users in both industry and academia.

According to Dr Steve Beeby and Dr Geoff Merrett at ECS' Electronic Systems and Devices Group, this is good news for industry as it will create a power supply that will last the lifetime of a device, and avoid downtime due to batteries failing.

"Batteries have to be recharged or replaced," said Dr Beeby. "Energy harvesting is a potential alternative power supply that will outlast the application."

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Notes to Editors:

1. For further information about the Energy Harvesting Network, please visit: <a href="http://eh-network.org">www.eh-network.org</a>

2. For further information about the Electronic Systems and Devices Group at the University of Southampton's School of Electronics and Computer Science, please visit: <a href="http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk">http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk</a>

3. For further information about Perpetuum, please visit: <a href="http://www.perpetuum.com/">http://www.perpetuum.com/</a>

4. For further information about Dr Steve Beeby, please visit: <a href="http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/people/spb">http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/people/spb</a>

5. For further information about Dr Geoff Merrett, please visit: <a href="http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/people/gvm">http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/people/gvm</a>

6. With around 500 researchers, and 900 undergraduate students, the School of Electronics and Computer Science at Southampton is one of the world's largest and most successful integrated research groupings, covering Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electronics, Electrical Engineering, and IT in Organisations. ECS has unrivalled depth and breadth of expertise in world-leading research, new developments and their applications.

7. The University of Southampton is a leading UK teaching and research institution with a global reputation for research and scholarship across a wide range of subjects in engineering, science, social sciences, health, arts and humanities.

With over 22,000 students, around 5000 staff, and an annual turnover of almost &pound;400 million, the University of Southampton is one of the country's top institutions for engineering, computer science and medicine. We combine academic excellence with an innovative and entrepreneurial approach to research, supporting a culture that engages and challenges students and staff in their pursuit of learning.

The University is also home to a number of world-leading research centres, including the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, the Optoelectronics Research Centre, the Centre for the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, and the Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute
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Further Information: http://eh-network.org/