An investigation on energy harvesting from wrist for smart electronic devices

In this thesis energy harvested using the wrist movement of human arm is discussed. Human arm is constantly being used during our normal routine work, walking running or doing chores. These actions could be helpful in producing electricity. Previously research has been performed on the human body's ability to produce energy. Magnets have been utilized to design a device that harvests the energy using the wrist movement for electronic devices. The magnets were placed inside a 3-D printed tube and coils were wrapped the tube to convert the electromagnetic field into electricity. It can be worn to collect energy all day long. To determine the maximum performance throughout the arm movements, simulations were performed on software called COMSOL. The experiments were carried out by placing this device on the shaker and open circuit voltage was calculated with and without a resistor using an oscilloscope. The open circuit voltage generated at the least frequency of the shaker was 0.24 V and 0.064 V with resistance and without resistance, respectively. Different frequencies were applied to further measure the voltages. As batteries are constantly being needed to be replaced for the wearable electronic devices so, we developed the device which will continuously recharge them. This is a significant step towards future wearable electronics not requiring battery maintenance as it can charge the batteries as the wearer is normally doing their work in their routine.