Electrical power generation from insect flight

Timothy Reissman; Robert B. MacCurdy; Ephrahim Garcia

doi:10.1117/12.880702

26 April 2011 Electrical power generation from insect flight

Timothy Reissman, Robert B. MacCurdy, Ephrahim Garcia

Proceedings Volume 7977, Active and Passive Smart Structures and Integrated Systems 2011; 797702 (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.880702
Event: SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, 2011, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

This article presents an implementation of a miniature energy harvester (weighing 0.292 grams) on an insect (hawkmoth Manduca sexta) in un-tethered flight. The harvester utilizes a piezoelectric transducer which converts the vibratory motion induced by the insect's flight into electrical power (generating up to 59 μW_RMS). By attaching a low-power management circuit (weighing 0.200 grams) to the energy harvester and accumulating the converted energy onboard the flying insect, we are able to visually demonstrate pulsed power delivery (averaging 196 mW) by intermittently flashing a light emitting diode. This self-recharging system offers biologists a new means for powering onboard electronics used to study small flying animals. Using this approach, the lifetime of the electronics would be limited only by the lifetime of the individuals, a vast improvement over current methods.

Citation Download Citation

Timothy Reissman, Robert B. MacCurdy, and Ephrahim Garcia "Electrical power generation from insect flight", Proc. SPIE 7977, Active and Passive Smart Structures and Integrated Systems 2011, 797702 (26 April 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.880702

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