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EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Sensor Technologies and Applications in an Uncertain World

 

Keynote Speaker 3: Eric Yeatman – Ambient and Wireless Power Sources for Wireless Sensors

Wireless electronic devices have been proliferating in recent years, and will continue to do so. Most are powered by batteries, and removing the burden of recharging or replacing these is becoming ever more attractive. Wireless sensors are a particularly compelling application, because in many desired applications they will be large in number, and difficult to access, while having modest power requirements. At Imperial College London, we have developed a variety of alternative powering methods, including kinetic energy harvesters, dynamic thermoelectric harvesters, resonant inductive charging systems, and ultrasonic power delivery. I will present these devices and methods, and also demonstrate a new concept called synthetic sensor networks, in which drones or other mobile robots visit widely scattered sensors to autonomously collect data and deliver wireless power. Finally I will applications for such systems, and possible future developments.

            Eric Yeatman
Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering,
Imperial College London

Eric M Yeatman has been a member of academic staff in Imperial College London since 1989, and Professor of Micro-Engineering since 2005. He has published more than 200 papers and patents, primarily on micro-fabrication, micro-optics, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), and sensor systems. Since 2015 he is Head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. He is a Fellow and a Silver Medalist of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow of the IEEE. Professor Yeatman is also co-founder and director of Microsaic Systems plc, which develops and markets miniature mass spectrometers, based on MEMS technology, for chemical analysis.

www.imperial.ac.uk/people/e.yeatman