Electronic Military & Defense Annual Resource

5th Edition

Electronic Military & Defense magazine was developed for engineers, program managers, project managers, and those involved in the design and development of electronic and electro-optic systems for military, defense, and aerospace applications.

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Trends Printed Energy Harvesters For Autonomous Military Applications Energy-harvesting technology, produced with innovative printing methods, has the potential to improve soldiers' in-the-field capabilities while simultaneously trimming equipment weight and costs. By Ashwith Chilvery and Silpika Karampuri E nergy harvesting — also called energy scavenging or power harvesting — is the process by which ambient energy is captured and converted into electricity for small autonomous devices, such as satellites, laptops, and nodes in sensor networks, making them self-sufficient. In recent years, research on energy harvesters for medical, military, industrial, and commercial applications has greatly increased due to the harvesters' instantaneous energy delivery, flexibility, and portability. Military applications are of particular interest, since energy harvesters are soldier-friendly, enhancing warriors' capabilities in long-range and multifaceted battlefield endeavors. Power-harvesting technologies, operating with dependable efficiency, open the door to a host of new applications for a soldier's wearable devices and other portable military electronics. This article examines future prospects and manufacturing possibilities surrounding a few of the most efficient energy-harvesting technologies: piezoelectricity, photovoltaic, and pyroelectricity (the "3 Ps"). Military devices based on the 3-P technology must exhibit exceptional durability to function in harsh environments with little human attention. Also, printing methodologies, such as gravure printing and nanoimprinting, could be key to manufacturing this technology. Thus, a detailed understanding of the 3 Ps and their manufacture is necessary to optimize performance. Introduction In recent years, energy harvesting has emerged as a buzzword among energy leaders and researchers. As batteries provide a finite amount of power — even when used with low-power, portable microelectronics — researchers are examining how energy drawn from Electronic Military & Defense Annual Resource, 5th Edition 40 Figure 1: An illustration of how a soldier's environment can utilize the "3 Ps" of energy-harvesting technology. Figure 2: Illustration of various sources for energy-harvesting technologies

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