A system designed at MIT could allow sensors to operate in remote settings, without batteries

Credit: Christine Daniloff, MIT

MIT researchers have developed a battery-free, self-powered sensor that can harvest energy from its environment. The sensor can be embedded in hard-to-reach places, like inside the inner workings of a ship’s engine, to gather data on the machine’s power consumption and operations for long periods of time.

The temperature-sensing device harvests energy from the magnetic field generated in the open air around a wire. One could simply clip the sensor around a wire that carries electricity and it will automatically harvest and store energy which it uses to monitor the motor’s temperature.

According to Steve Leeb, the Emanuel E. Landsman Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and professor of mechanical engineering, the sensor is easy to install because it requires no special wiring.

In the paper, which appeared as the featured article in the January issue of the IEEE Sensors Journal, the researchers offer a design guide for an energy-harvesting sensor that lets an engineer balance the available energy in the environment with their sensing needs.

The versatile design framework is not limited to sensors that harvest magnetic field energy, and can be applied to those that use other power sources, like vibrations or sunlight. It could be used to build networks of sensors for factories, warehouses, and commercial spaces that cost less to install and maintain.