Towards a complementary balanced energy harvesting solution for low power embedded systems

The specific technical challenges associated with the design of an ambient energy powered electronic system currently requires thorough knowledge of the environment of deployment, energy harvester characteristics and power path management. In this work, a novel flexible model for ambient energy harvesters is presented that allows decoupling of the harvester’s physical principles and electrical behavior using a three dimensional function. The model can be adapted to all existing harvesters, resulting in a design methodology for generic ambient energy powered systems using the presented model. We also present a solution for the mathematical problem involved with the optimization of generator sizes when more than two harvesters are used, and demonstrate the ease of use of this solution for implementations on embedded systems with few system resources. Concrete examples are included to demonstrate the versatility of the presented design in the development of electronic appliances on system level.