The industrialized world relies on electric power to do everything, and more and more of that power is becoming portable via batteries and electrical double-layer capacitors, and they are getting recharged in new ways such as energy harvesting and wireless recharging. This month we bring you articles from Linear Technology, Ioxus, Recom, Texas Instruments, and Tadiran that inform and even challenge you to learn about designing for the future needs of your customers.
Wireless power isn’t new: In the early 20th century, Nikola Tesla planned to use a 187-ft-high tower to send power wirelessly.
How important is it that we have new ways to keep our portable work tools charged and ready to keep us productive? The recent ice/snow storms have once again humbled us and made us aware of how reliant we are on electricity and how dc forms of energy can help smooth out the down times of ac-electric supply. For example, mobile or wireless communications, especially for connecting the Internet of Things (IoT), need power to enable long-term functioning. A report from IDTechEx (http://tinyurl.com/lmuv8gc ) says that energy harvesting is the lower expense over the long term than batteries. But a report from NanoMarkets (http://tinyurl.com/offxjkf ) says a new type battery, the printed battery, will enable this wireless IoT market to take off. Each report has its salient points, but you will have to decide for yourself which one makes sense for your design, and don’t forget about electrical double-layer (super/ultra) capacitors.
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