Review—Power Sources for the Internet of Things

Abstract

Wireless sensor networks have become integral to enabling numerous applications for the Internet of Things, such as environmental sensing or healthcare monitoring. Powering these networks has been the focus of significant research efforts due to the need for reliable and continuous operation of the sensing nodes. In this review, we outline the progress made in the sensing nodes with a particular focus on their power demands. These requirements are used as a framework for surveying the theoretical limits and developments for various power sources, including energy storage, power distribution, and power scavenging techniques. Finally, we conclude by identifying that harvesting techniques are largely insufficient for powering IoT nodes due to limited power densities or inconsistencies as to when power is harvested; accordingly, direct wiring and storage sources such as batteries are the most promising approaches for IoT applications.

Silicon nanocrystal hybrid photovoltaic devices for indoor light energy harvesting

“…The power consumption of a low-powered IoT device typically ranges between 20 mW and 10 mW, 31,54 and SiNC-HPVs enables sufficient power supply to the IoT device by designing an optimum system structure. A typical fullerene-based OPV has been reported to exceed a PCE of 10% under a simulated indoor light source.…”

“…[28][29][30] In recent years, due to the rapid development of IoT (Internet of Things) related technology, the number of IoT devices has dramatically increased. 31,32 Many type of printable PV devices such as OPVs, [33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42] dye-sensitized solar cells 43,44 and perovskite solar cells 45,46 have been explored for indoor applications, OPVs are especially expected to be used as an energy harvesting system for IoT devices because of their potential for low power operation, independent and distributed applications, high portability and device designability. In this study, we successfully demonstrated SiNC-HPVs with PCE as high as 9.7% and power density of 34.0 mW cm À2 under standard indoor light irradiation (1000 lx).…”

A Hardware Approach of a Low-Power IoT Communication Interface by NXP FlexIO Module

“…Generally, current IoT design goals require modern approaches that can achieve minimal power consumption and minimal processing times [2]. This research direction is very important, especially in batterypowered or harvesting IoT platforms [3].…”

Effect of Higher-Order Silane Deposition on Spatial Profile of Si-H₂/Si-H Bond Density Ratio of a-Si:H Films

“…Because of the rapid expansion of the Internet of Things (IoTs) technology, power supply for IoT devices has become one of the major concerns limiting their expansion [1]. a-Si:H thin film solar cells have attracted considerable attention as power supplies for IoT devices because of their thin, flexible, and light-weight features, as well as their low production cost compared to other solar cells [1].…”

“…Because of the rapid expansion of the Internet of Things (IoTs) technology, power supply for IoT devices has become one of the major concerns limiting their expansion [1]. a-Si:H thin film solar cells have attracted considerable attention as power supplies for IoT devices because of their thin, flexible, and light-weight features, as well as their low production cost compared to other solar cells [1]. However, to ensure a-Si:H thin film solar cells remain highly efficient, it is necessary to suppress light-induced degradation [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] by lowering the density of the Si-H 2 bonds in a-Si:H films [6].…”