University of Southampton Newcastle University Imperial College Bristol University Holistic: Next Generation Energy-Harvesting Electronics

Project Resources

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Downloads and Tools | Research Explained | News | Dissemination Events | Outreach | Follow-on Projects

Downloads and Tools

Real Vibration Data Available for Free Download

Vibration energy harvesters behave very differently in real environments than when they are exposed to synthetic vibration conditions in the lab. To address this problem, we have collected long-term vibration data from a range of applications (including vehicles, machinery, and humans). These data sets are now available for free download from the Energy Harvesting Open Access Data Repository, which is managed by the Energy Harvesting Network.
FFT plot created from real vibration data

Holistic Energy Harvesting Design Explorer and Simulation Toolkit

The Response Surface Model-based Design Explorer (Windows .exe), pictured right, is available for download. It allows you to adjust the design of the vibration energy harvesting system and see what effect it has on the number of transmissions a wireless sensor node can make. This video explains how it works.

An Energy Harvesting Simulation Toolkit (.zip) package, which includes documentation, may also be downloaded.
RSM Design Explorer

Energy Harvesting Systems: A Block Diagram

The project has developed a block diagram of an energy harvesting system, which demonstrates the holistic approach that is needed for design. You can also download a document providing a full description of the various blocks in this diagram. Please cite the diagram and/or document as:

Energy Harvesting Systems: A Block Diagram (2010, July 16). Holistic Energy Harvesting [Online]. Available: http://www.holistic.ecs.soton.ac.uk/res/eh-system.php.
energy harvesting block diagram

Research Explained

Summaries of Project Demonstrators from the Holistic Showcase

Documents, presented at the showcase and workshop, describing these contributions from each theme are available:

Theme A (Bristol)
Theme B
Theme C
Demonstrator

The Holistic showcase and workshop

Demonstrator System being Deployed on Ferry Engine

Click here to get an overview of our demonstrator deployment, including a video from Dr Alex Weddell, University of Southampton.
Video on the deployment of a Holistic demonstrator

Vibration-Powered Sensing System for Engine Condition Monitoring

Click here to find out more about the demonstrator deployment, with a video of a conference presentation from Dr Geoff Merrett, University of Southampton.
Video on the deployment of a Holistic demonstrator

Design Space Exploration and Optimisation of Energy Harvesting Systems

Click here for a video about our design explorer, which is based on a "Response Surface Model" technique. Video by Dr Tom Kazmierski and Dr Leran Wang (Phil), University of Southampton.
Design Space Exploration video

Smart Computation for EH Systems, and Variable Power Supply

Click here for a video about smart computation for EH systems, and variable power supply. Video by Newcastle University.
Smart computation video

Self Timed ASRAM

Click here for a video about self-timed SRAM. Video by Newcastle University.
Self timed SRAM video

Power Conversion for Future Energy Harvesters

Click here to find out more about this research topic, and view a video from Dr Bernard Stark, University of Bristol
Video on power conversion for future energy harvesters

Plug and Play Energy Harvesting Systems

Click here to find out more about this research topic, and view a video from Dr Alex Weddell, University of Southampton
Video on a plug-and-play system for energy harvesting sensors

Efficient Energy Harvesting from Photovoltaic Cells using Maximum Power Point Tracking

Click here to find out more about this research topic, and view a video from Dr Geoff Merrett, University of Southampton
Video on efficient energy harvesting from photovoltaic cells

Energy-Modulated Computing

Click here to find out more about this research topic, and view a video from Prof Alex Yakovlev, Newcastle University
energy modulated computing

News

Showcase and Workshop

The project is now at an end, and the consortium held a workshop at Imperial College London on 11 February 2013 to showcase the project's demonstrators and research findings. Slides and other material from the event can be found here.
Holistic project logo

Follow-on Project

The EPSRC have funded a follow-on project by the University of Bristol and Newcastle University on power-conditioning and computational electronics that will be able to survive in power-deficient modes.
University of Bristol logo

Innovator of the Year Award

Alex Yakovlev's team at Newcastle University won the Innovator of the Year 2012 award for their work on the Holistic project.
Newcastle University logo

Paper Award for Holistic Project

Jatin Mistry (Southampton) and James Myers (ARM) were awarded the prestigious Technical Committee Award at the Synopsys Users Group (SNUG) conference in Silicon Valley, March 26-28 2012.
Jatin Mistry (R) and colleagues with award cheque

Real Vibration Data Available for Free Download

We have collected long-term vibration data from a range of applications (including vehicles, machinery, and humans). These are now available for free download; more details in the resources section.

Another paper accepted by IEEE Transactions

Another paper has just been accepted, this time by IEEE TCAD. It is available in the publications section.
Accepted paper © IEEE 2011

Two papers accepted by IEEE Transactions

Two of our papers have just been accepted by IEEE TCAS. They are available in the publications section.
Accepted paper © IEEE 2011

EH Simulation Toolkit

The Energy Harvesting simulation toolkit is now available for download from the resources section of this website.

DATE2011

At the 2011 DATE conference in Grenoble, the Holistic project presented four papers and had a stand gaving attendees the opportunity to see videos, demonstrations, presentations and posters.
DATE 2011 stand

Power Processing Video

A 'research explained' article on power conversion for future energy harvesters, containing a video by Dr Bernard Stark, University of Bristol, has been uploaded.
Power Processing video

Dissemination Events and Knowledge Transfer

07/06/2013: The Times Cheltenham Science Festival 2013, Cheltenham, UK

Dr Geoff Merrett and Dr Paul Mitcheson delivered a lecture and discussion session on Energy Harvesting to a packed crowd of over 100 members of the public at The Times Cheltenham Science Festival 2013.

Cheltenham Presentation

25/03/2013: Energy Harvesting 2013, London, UK

Dr Paul Mitcheson delivered a keynote presentation on "Energy Harvester Powered Sensors: A Holistic Approach" at the Energy Harvesting 2013 conference.


03-04/07/2012: ZEROPOWER Workshop, Glasgow, UK

Prof Steve Beeby will deliver a presentation on "Holistic Energy Harvesting and the Energy Harvesting Network" at the ZEROPOWER Workshop, being hosted by the EU ZEROPOWER Network.


19/06/2012: Energy Harvesting Workshop at Semiconductor 2K , Southampton, UK

Dr Alex Weddell delivered a presentation on "A Holistic Approach to Vibration Energy Harvesting" at this workshop, which took place during the Semiconductor 2K (S2K) conference.

S2K Presentation

11-14/06/2012: International Workshop on Algorithms and Concepts for Networked Sensing Systems Powered by Energy Harvesters (EnHaNSS'12), Antwerp, Belgium

Dr Geoff Merrett presented a keynote entitled "Holistic Design of Energy Harvesting Sensor Nodes" at this workshop, which took place during the International Conference on Networked Sensing Systems (INSS'12) conference.

20-22/06/2011: IDTechEx "Energy Harvesting and Storage Europe 2011", Holiday Inn Munich City Centre, Germany

Two talks were given at this event from the Holistic project:
- Dr Geoff Merrett gave a masterclass on "(em)Powering Wireless Sensor Networks"
- Dr Paul Mitcheson gave a presentation on "Advanced Power Electronics for Energy Harvesters"

08/06/2011: ESP KTN "Balancing the Instrumentation Power Budget for Field Deployment", Grand Connaught Rooms, London

Two presentations were given at this event from the Holistic project:
- Dr Alex Weddell gave a presentation on "Next Generation Energy-Harvesting Electronics: Holistic Approach"
- Dr Paul Mitcheson gave a presentation on "Energy Harvesting Technologies (Focus on Power Electronics)"
ESP KTN Event

05/05/2011: The Materials KTN Intelligent Energy Harvesting, The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, London

Two presentations were given at this event from the Holistic project:
- Dr Tom Kazmierski gave a presentation on "Next Generation Electronics for Energy-Harvesting: A Holistic Approach"
- Dr Paul Mitcheson gave a presentation on "Power electronics interfaces for energy harvesting systems"
The event was reported by the Energy Harvesting Journal.
 

18/03/2011: Design and Test in Europe (DATE) 2011, Grenoble, France

The project was well represented at the DATE 2011 conference, with consortium members from Southampton, Newcastle and Imperial in attendance.
- Four papers from the Holistic project were accepted for publication at the conference
- The consortium shared a stand with the Energy Harvesting Network, giving attendees to the exhibition the opportunity to see videos, presentations, posters and demonstrators on the project, alongside holding discussions with consortium members.
- Dr Paul Mitcheson co-organised a special day on "Intelligent Energy Management - Supply and Utilisation".
DATE 2011

07/02/2011: The Energy Harvesting Network's 2011 Conference, The IET, Savoy Place, London

Dr Paul Mitcheson gave a talk on "Next Generation Energy-Harvesting Electronics: A Holistic Approach" at Energy Harvesting 2011, the Energy Harvesting Network's annual conference.
Energy Harvesting 2011

27/05/2010: KTN Power Management Techologies Conference, NPL, Teddington, London

Two presentations were given at this event from the Holistic project:
- Prof. Alex Yakovlev gave a presentation on "Power Adaptive Computing"
- Dr Paul Mitcheson gave a presentation on "Next Generation Energy-Harvesting Electronics: A Holistic Approach".
 

Outreach and Other Events

09/07/2010: Beyond Recycling, Appletree Court, Lyndhurst

Dr Alex Weddell helped to deliver activities on environmental energy harvesting at "Beyond Recycling," a sustainability conference for students from five secondary schools across the New Forest.
 

Follow-on Projects

Staying alive in variable, intermittent, low-power environments (SAVVIE)

EPSRC Joint Research Grant: EP/K011979/1 & EP/K012908/1
Institutions: University of Bristol and Newcastle University
Start Date: 1 December 2012

Today's low-power electronic systems are designed to handle a high variability in the power demand, for example during transmissions from miniature wireless sensors. However these systems cannot cope with a highly variable power supply. If they are powered by an ambient energy harvester in an environment where the available power is low and sporadic, the system dies once the energy storage becomes depleted or damaged, with start-up being impossible if the power is not increased to a higher steady level.

This project researches how to design robust and reliable electronics for situations where there is a variable, unreliable source of energy. A number of situations, or states, have been defined, according to the level of depletion of on-board energy storage, and how variable the power supply is. In the most challenging states, for example where the input power is sporadic and spread over a wide range from nW to mW, modern electronics fails. We call this the "survival zone" and are investigating a combination of techniques from the areas of power electronics and asynchronous microelectronic design to allow devices to operate in this zone. Techniques include control circuits that are able to ride through variable voltages, the detection of states, and reconfigurable hardware resources and control algorithms to suit sporadic and sub-microwatt input power. The chief aim of this project is to produce survival zone design methods for the microelectronic design community.

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