Wearable Energy Harvesting and Storage Devices

Dear Colleagues,

Interest in wearable electronics for continuous, multi-modal health and performance monitoring is rapidly growing. Applications of these wearable systems span a wide spectrum that include wellness monitoring, chronic disease detection and monitoring, implantable electronics, drug adherence and military operations. Future systems must incorporate many sensors in order to achieve a comprehensive assessment of the human condition as well as the environment. In addition, they need to transmit the information wirelessly to a base station, where data processing can take place. As the functionality of these systems increases, so do their energy requirements, which eliminates the use of chemical batteries for long-term, continuous monitoring. To achieve high user compliance, especially among the elderly population, it is also highly undesirable to employ rechargeable batteries. The obvious solution to these challenges is the development of self-powered systems that completely rely on the energy harvested from the human body or the ambient environment. 

A variety of energy harvesting technologies for wearable systems are currently being considered. Examples include thermoelectric generators that harvest body heat, piezoelectric or electromagnetic devices that harvest kinetic energy, and ambient RF harvesting. In many cases, these energy harvesting systems have to operate under less than ideal conditions, which require them to employ state-of-the-art materials and integration technologies to achieve the highest possible efficiency levels. 

Unfortunately, no matter how efficient these harvesters might be, there will be times during the day when they will simply not harvest any appreciable energy. Therefore, it is also essential that these systems have the ability to store the harvested energy so it can be used on demand. The harvested energy can be stored in rechargeable batteries or supercapacitors, which offer a myriad of opportunities for new materials and technologies.

It is also well established that for wearable systems, comfort and aesthetics are key factors for user compliance. These systems often need to make intimate contact to the human body for better signal quality and/or to reduce the parasitic resistances between the device and the skin. These considerations make flexible electronics that can conform to the body a highly desirable avenue for wearables. Consequently, there is a strong interest in developing flexible energy harvesting and storage technologies that can be integrated into wearable systems.

This Special Issue will focus on energy harvesting and storage technologies specifically suitable for wearable systems to monitor both health and the environment. As such, both rigid and flexible technologies are of interest. It is my pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript for this Special Issue. Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Prof. Dr. Mehmet C Ozturk
Guest Editor

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