Project description
Eliminating recharging of wearable devices
With the rapid advancement of electronics and the Internet of Things (IoT), the world has seen a new interest in wearable devices. Devices like Apple’s smartwatch and other fitness trackers are proof of successful applications. Their possible use for healthcare along with the IoT, or in collaboration with a number of other sectors, makes them very important. Unfortunately, this interest in wearable devices is facing big challenges. One of them is the size and power of the energy supply. The EU-funded Smart2Go project aims to overcome this challenge by developing a novel autonomous energy-supply platform that could be adaptable to manufacturers' models and needs. The findings of the project will certainly pave the way for smarter wearable devices.
Objective
The widespread introduction of wearable devices is expected to be one of the major trends in the next one or two decades. First applications have already entered the market, like e.g. the smartwatch from Apple or various types of fitness trackers. However, the main booming period is still expected to happen in future. Health care application, internet of things as well as reshaping of the interaction between humans and electronic devices will be the main drivers for this development. Presently various obstacles still hinder the expected rapid development. Apart from legal topics, like e.g. data security, there are also technological bottlenecks. The energy supply to wearable devices is probably the most serious challenge among these technological bottlenecks.
The Smart2Go project is exactly targeting this topic. The aim of the project is the creation of an autonomous energy-supply platform. Based on the results of the project it will be possible to use a wearable without caring about recharging over its entire lifetime. This aim will be achieved by the combination of a powerful battery with appropriate energy harvesting technologies. The performance of the energy supply platform will be demonstrated in two application cases.
The special feature of Smart2Go is the standardization of the interfaces within the platform. This will enable manufacturers to easily adapt it to various different application after the end of the project. Additionally, the type of energy harvesting can be changed as well, further extending the variability of the platform. This concept is a major part of the expected impact of the project results. At the same time, this is the decisive point that distinguishes the project form various other activities in this area.
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Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
80686 Munchen
Germany