In addition to the noticeable drop in "wearables" papers released sometime around the pandemic, "ambient energy harvesting" seemed to have the same thing. There wasn't as much papers on this, so it wasn't as noticeable as "wearables". It's like all the papers on these two topics just disappeared for at least a year, maybe two. But now we're getting back into it, so here's a few circa 2024.
The first one is an example of the way The Internet of Everything is going to work. This device can do very (very) basic voice recognition with nothing resembling what we would today call a computer. It just measures the sound energy vibrations when you say the word. Actual things, like coffee cups, pencils, windows and park benches, will be like this, so that everything computes. And it's using ambient energy like sound waves, temperature differences, your own body's electricity, or light, so it doesn't need a power source or maybe even a battery. It would be very hard to convince a person from 1920 that in 2020 the internet would exist, or video chat, or the International Space Station. So for us to think of a world where everything, the matter itself, is a computer, it's hard to imagine, but it's coming, and this is it right here.
Image credit: Nikon Small World - Sunflower pollen on an acupuncture needle - John-Oliver Dum - 40X - 2023
Sound-powered sensors stand to save millions of batteries
Jan 2024, phys.org
"The sensor works purely mechanically and doesn't require an external energy source. It simply utilizes the vibrational energy contained in sound waves"This energy is then sufficient to generate a tiny electrical pulse that switches on an electronic device that has been switched off.
But it's better than you think -
It can distinguish between the spoken words "three" and "four." Because the word "four" has more sound energy that resonates with the sensor compared to the word "three," it causes the sensor to vibrate, whereas "three" does not. That means the word "four" could switch on a device or trigger further processes. Nothing would happen with "three."Newer variants of the sensor should be able to distinguish between up to twelve different words, such as standard machine commands like "on," "off," "up" and "down."It's a metamaterial but not one made of rare earths; instead it's made of silicon plates connected to each other via tiny bars that act like springs."Our sensor consists purely of silicone and contains neither toxic heavy metals nor any rare earths, as conventional electronic sensors do"
via ETH Zurich: Tena Dubček et al, In‐Sensor Passive Speech Classification with Phononic Metamaterials, Advanced Functional Materials (2024). DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202311877
Dual-energy harvesting device could power future wireless medical implants
Feb 2024, phys.org
The new device can harvest energy from magnetic field and ultrasound sources simultaneously, converting this energy to electricity to power implants; it can generate 300% higher power than the current state-of-the-art devices.
via Pennsylvania State University: Sumanta Kumar Kumar Karan et al, Magnetic field and ultrasound induced simultaneous wireless energy harvesting, Energy & Environmental Science (2024). DOI: 10.1039/D3EE03889K
This device gathers, stores electricity in remote settings
Apr 2024, phys.org
Novel type of battery called a pyroelectrochemical cell, which uses a composite material of porous polyvinylidene fluoride and barium titanate nanoparticles. This material's electrical properties change as it's heated or cooled, which decreases or increases the polarization of the pyroelectric separator. It's charged by changing temperatures in the surrounding environment, whether it's inside a car or aircraft or just under the soil in an agricultural environment.
via University of Utah: Tim Kowalchik et al, Direct conversion of thermal energy to stored electrochemical energy via a self-charging pyroelectrochemical cell, Energy & Environmental Science (2024). DOI: 10.1039/D3EE03497F
Salt battery harvests osmotic energy where the river meets the sea
Apr 2024, phys.org
Salt gradients and osmotic energy are sort of ambient energy harvesting.
(Estuaries are where freshwater rivers meet the salty sea; I think any gradient is a reservoir of ambient energy harvesting.)
via School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Guangxi University China: Decoupled Ionic and Electronic Pathways for Enhanced Osmotic Energy Harvesting, ACS Energy Letters (2024). DOI: 10.1021/acsenergylett.4c00320
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