Testbed Design for Self-sustainable IoT Sensors
From iis-projects
Contents
Overview
Long-term and maintenance-free operation is a critical feature for large-scale deployed battery-operated sensor nodes. Energy harvesting (EH), namely the utilization of environmental energy sources for powering wireless sensors, is a promising technology to overcome the energy bottleneck of today's devices and to enable the vision of perpetual operation. However, relying on fluctuating environmental energy requires an application-specific analysis of the energy statistics combined with an in-depth characterization of circuits and algorithms, making design and verification complex. Thus, advanced test strategies are required to evaluate and validate sensor designs in controlled and repeatable lab conditions.
Project description
In this project, the student will focus on designing, optimizing, and characterizing lab test setups for solar and thermal energy harvesting. The objectives include familiarizing with the current state of the work, optimizing existing firmware, developing test strategies, and designing a testbed for thermal energy harvesting. The student will design and analyze circuits and algorithms for interfacing thermoelectric cooler/heater modules, interface multiple temperature sensors, implement a temperature control loop, and collaborate with the DITET workshop for the design and manufacturing of mechanical parts.
Tasks:
- Embedded firmware design
- ECAD / MCAD design
- Circuit and PCB design
- Assembly and characterization of the testbed
Prerequisites depending on tasks (not all required)
- Embedded firmware design (experience with FreeRTOS, etc., appreciated)
- Circuit design tools (e.g., Altium)
- Knowledge of MCAD tools or motivation to learn (e.g., SolidWorks)
Type of work
- 5% Literature study
- 70% Software and hardware design
- 25% Mechanical design and assembly
Status: Available
- Type: Bachelor, Semester, or Master Thesis (multiple students possible)
- Professor: : Prof. Dr. Luca Benini
- Supervisors:
 |
Philipp Mayer
|
