Congratulation to Dr. Soobum Lee for Receiving a TEDCO Grant

Fri, 05 Jan 2018 14:06:02 -0500

Dr. Lee received the TEDCO Maryland Innovation Initiative (MII) research fund (phase I) for his study on "ActiveCharge™: an Impact-Driven Piezoelectric Energy Harvester". The objective of this proposed project is to develop a practical, impact-driven piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH), “ActiveCharge™”, that can effectively harvest wasted vibrational/kinematic energy and convert it to electrical energy for battery-free sensor operation. The target application of the impact-driven harvester is, but is not limited to, powering the wireless sensors used for wind turbine blade monitoring. The power sustainability of wireless sensors has been an important issue – disposable batteries are not an option because they have a limited lifetime, and it is almost impossible to access the inside of a wind turbine blade to replace them. The tasks in this grant will build a working prototype of ActiveCharge™ with an integrated power management circuit and a wireless sensor for monitoring wind turbine blades with the target specifications in terms of average power, useful life, and the device volume. The success of this research project will provide a very unique and practical solution for energy sustainable wireless sensor nodes.