Wearable Biomechanical Energy Harvesting Technologies

Young-Man Choi, Moon Gu Lee and Yongho Jeon
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Young-Man Choi: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea
Moon Gu Lee: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea
Yongho Jeon: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea

Energies, 2017, vol. 10, issue 10, 1-17

Abstract: Energy harvesting has been attracting attention as a technology that is capable of replacing or supplementing a battery with the development of various mobile electronics. In environments where stable electrical supply is not possible, energy harvesting technology can guarantee an increased leisure and safety for human beings. Harvesting with several watts of power is essential for directly driving or efficiently charging mobile electronic devices such as laptops or cell phones. In this study, we reviewed energy harvesting technologies that harvest biomechanical energy from human motion such as foot strike, joint motion, and upper limb motion. They are classified based on the typical principle of kinetic energy harvesting: piezoelectric, triboelectric, and electromagnetic energy harvesting. We focused on the wearing position of high-power wearable biomechanical energy harvesters (WBEHs) generating watt-level power. In addition, the features and future trends of the watt-level WBEHs are discussed.

Keywords: energy harvesting; wearable devices; human motion; electric generator; biomechanical energy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

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