Researchers Unveil a "Record-Breaking" Nano-Generator That Could Power the IoT with Good Vibrations

A research team from the University of Toronto and the University of Waterloo is hoping to bring good vibes to the Internet of Things (IoT) — literally, using a novel material which can harvest useful power from mechanical vibrations.

"Our breakthrough will have a significant social and economic impact by reducing our reliance on non-renewable power sources," claims co-author Asif Khan of the team's work, which is being positioned as usable for everything from implants and wearables to spacecraft. "We need these energy-generating materials more critically at this moment than at any other time in history."

The team's material harvests energy based on the piezoelectric effect, turning pressure from surrounding mechanical vibrations into electricity. While knowledge of the effect itself dates back to 1880, its use as an energy harvesting system has been hampered by its limited generating capacity and the majority of implementations using lead in their production — but the researchers claim to have solved both problems.

To prove it, the team built a prototype nanogenerator measuring roughly one inch square and the thickness of a single business card. Rather than using lead, the prototype is based on a single large EDABCO copper chloride crystal grown in one shot — making an eco-friendly device which, Khan claims, has "a record power density [and] can harvest tiny mechanical vibrations in any dynamic circumstances, from human motion to automotive vehicles."

The team is eager to see its material used to help reduce the environmental impact of the Internet of Things (IoT), and in particular vast sensor networks which need to be powered — where each individual sensor is relatively low-power but which in aggregate will grow to be a major overall consumer.

Danyan Ban, PhD, co-corresponding author on the paper, has ideas for other use-cases too — including powering monitoring systems on aircraft and even powering pacemakers from a user's own heartbeat. "Our new material has shown record-breaking performance," he claims. "It represents a new path forward in this field."

The team's work has been published in the journal Nature Communications under open-access terms.