Applications of Vibration Energy Harvesting Technology in the Field of Wearable Devices

Abstract

The energy crisis has become more and more serious, and there is an urgent demand for environmental friendly, convenient and sustainable energy technology. Compared with some other ambient energy, such as solar energy, thermal gradient, and radio frequency, vibration energy is widely distributed in human movements and the surroundings. Therefore, vibration energy harvesting technology has attracted more and more attention. The development of wearable devices is limited by battery system, which has many drawbacks and risks. Harvesting energy from human motions to power wearable electronic devices has also become a research hotspot recently. The basic working principles of electromagnetic, electrostatic, piezoelectric, triboelectric vibration energy harvesters are briefly introduced, and their research progresses in the field of wearable/implantable devices are reviewed specifically. Besides, the applications of vibration energy harvesters in various parts of the human body are summarized. The characteristics of the four kinds of energy harvesting mechanisms are comparatively explained. Meanwhile, the output performance, long-term stability, wearing comfort and other challenges faced by vibration energy harvesters in the field of wearable devices are summarized, and their future development is expected finally.