Lumedyne's V-Power technology converts ordinary vibrations into electricity. These vibrations can come from nearly any source - from the vibration of a motor or even the sound of a person talking. The V-Power technology is a vibration energy harvester that has demonstrated RMS AC Power of 22 mW/cc per g of acceleration - the best known value of any vibration energy harvester technology.  This is equivalent to 17 Watts / Kilogram per g of acceleration RMS AC Power.

The V-Power vibration energy harvester is more than just an alternative to traditional batteries. The V-power vibration energy harvester can enable new applications such as wireless sensor networks that were previously not feasible using batteries or hardwiring. 

Lumedyne believes that for energy harvesting technology to be truly pervasive, future energy harvesters must be able to utilize ambient vibrations in typical environments and not just the vibrations from pumps or motors.  To this end, the V-power technology has been specifically developed to utilize extremely low level ambient vibrations as low as 10^-3 g to continuously power WSN.  Because it generates power from the surrounding environment, it is a green energy source that requires virtually no maintenance or replacement. Factors to consider when contemplating the use of an energy harvesting system versus the use of a traditional battery include:

1. Cost of batteries over the lifetime of the application
2. Cost of labor to replace the batteries
3. Cost of logistics to keep track of nodes
4. Loss in productivity or data due to down time from spent batteries
5. Energy harvesters are an enabling technology allowing applications that wouldn't be possible with the use of a battery.

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Applications:

Unattended Sensor Networks: It is estimated that 90% of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) applications are not feasible without the use of energy harvesting devices¹.  Unattended sensor networks are used in 1) commercial building applications for efficient environmental control of the building, 2) military applications for surveillance and / or reconnaissance, 3) security and first responder applications.  Future uses even include the use of energy harvesters to keep track of people’s shopping habits for better product placement and advertisement.   

Automotive / Aerospace: There are applications for which traditional power sources are not reliable or preferred. From tire air pressure sensors, where batteries are difficult to change and hard-wiring is impossible, to safety systems that must operate when traditional power systems fail, vibration energy harvesters provide a safe, reliable, cost effective solution.

Building Technologies: Applications for building technologies include battery free wireless sensors for structural health monitoring and safety systems for buildings in the event of a power loss.

Consumer Electronics: Many low power consumer electronics are suitable candidates for vibration energy harvesting. These harvesters can be used as a sole power source or as a means to extend battery life.

Medical Implants: Medical devices deployed inside the body are vital to the life and well being of the patient. Without electricity, these devices cannot function. Vibration energy harvesting can use the patient's own body movement and heartbeat to provide power for these life saving devices. Vibration energy harvesting is possible because of a physical phenomenon called resonance. When a system is vibrated at its resonant frequency, even a small driving force can cause large displacement amplitudes. The video below is an example of this phenomenon in action. It shows the V-Power energy harvester on a vibration table being vibrated at 70 Hz (shown here in slow motion). The resonance is so efficient at coupling energy that the movement of the vibration table is undetectable.  But unlike most resonators, the V-power technology responds to a relatively broad band of frequencies around the resonant frequency.

¹ IDTechEx workshop on Energy Harvesting, Cambridge, UK, June 3rd, 2009.