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A Fully Featured Thermal Energy Harvesting Tracker for Wildlife

Author

Listed:
  • Eiko Bäumker

    (Laboratory for the Design of Microsystems, Department of Microsystems Engineering—IMTEK, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany)

  • Luca Conrad

    (Laboratory for the Design of Microsystems, Department of Microsystems Engineering—IMTEK, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany)

  • Laura Maria Comella

    (Laboratory for the Design of Microsystems, Department of Microsystems Engineering—IMTEK, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany)

  • Peter Woias

    (Laboratory for the Design of Microsystems, Department of Microsystems Engineering—IMTEK, University of Freiburg, 79106 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany)

Abstract

In this paper, we describe a novel animal-tracking-system, solely powered by thermal energy harvesting. The tracker achieves an outstanding 100 μ W of electrical power harvested over an area of only 2 times 20.5 c m 2 , using the temperature difference between the animal’s fur and the environment, with a total weight of 286 g . The steps to enhance the power income are presented and validated in a field-test, using a system that fulfills common tracking-tasks, including GPS with a fix every 1.1 h to 1.5 h , activity and temperature measurements, all data wirelessly transmitted via LoRaWAN at a period of 14 min . Furthermore, we describe our ultra low power design that achieves an overall sleep power consumption of only 8 μ W and is able to work down to temperature differences of 0.9 K applied to the TEGs.

Suggested Citation

  • Eiko Bäumker & Luca Conrad & Laura Maria Comella & Peter Woias, 2021. "A Fully Featured Thermal Energy Harvesting Tracker for Wildlife," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-21, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:19:p:6363-:d:650124
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Eiko Bäumker & Pascal Beck & Peter Woias, 2020. "Thermoelectric Harvesting Using Warm-Blooded Animals in Wildlife Tracking Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-10, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Dibin Zhu, 2022. "Advance Energy Harvesting Technologies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-3, March.
    2. Mariusz Nowak & Piotr Derbis & Krzysztof Kurowski & Rafał Różycki & Grzegorz Waligóra, 2021. "LPWAN Networks for Energy Meters Reading and Monitoring Power Supply Network in Intelligent Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-14, November.

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