Current Perspectives for Autonomous Sensor Nodes

Abstract

The current technological trends associated with Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT) require an interconnected network of sensor nodes providing distributed information on the environment to enable intelligent action to be taken by control systems. Such sensors need to be wireless, self-powered and energy independent. In this work we provide an overview of possible strategies to realize a positive energy balance in autonomous sensor nodes without the use of batteries. We will first overview different sensors in terms of power consumption. We will then concentrate on energy harvesting and storage, showing state-of-the-art possibilities in both cases.

Keywords

• internet of things
• autonomous sensor nodes
• energy harvesting
• energy storage