A Bicycle-Embedded Electromagnetic Harvester for Providing Energy to Low-Power Electronic Devices

Bicycles are rapidly gaining popularity as a sustainable mode of transportation around the world. Furthermore, smart bicycle paradigm enables increased use through Internet Things applications (e.g., GPS tracking systems). This new introduces energy autonomy challenge. The harvesting technology can capture present in cycling environment kinetic or solar) to give this autonomy. source is more stable and dense environment. There several wheel harvesters on market, ranging from low-complexity dynamos used power lights harvester systems that harvest while braking store it for when needed sensors other electronics loads. Perhaps hub “bottle” most commercially successful because their cost-effective design. bottle generator very inexpensive, yet suffers significant losses unreliable wet weather due mechanical friction slippage wheel/generator contact. paper proposes based novel kinetic-electromagnetic transducer. proposed allows generation storage harnessed low-power loads user requires cell phone charging, lighting). made up processing unit, battery, an optimized transducer Halbach magnet array. An extensive full-wave electromagnetic simulation was evaluate Circuit also validate unit. generates simulated output 1.17 W with unit efficiency 45.6% under constant velocity 30 km/h.