Towards Zero Power Electronics

Particularly useful for communications, IOT, Sensors

Energy-efficient sensor nodes from Fraunhofer

Economical wireless communication

Research News / April 01, 2021

In today’s world, more and more devices are being wirelessly connected to one another with the aid of intelligent sensors. As this Internet of Things keeps growing, however, it is consuming more and more power. To address this issue, Fraunhofer’s ZEPOWEL lighthouse project has prompted the development of hardware that not only makes the sensors energy-efficient, but even enables them to save energy. As a starting point, the project is focusing on two sensor nodes – one to control machines and one to measure the air quality in the city.

The self-sufficient sensor node falls into deep-sleep mode when it is not needed. ... 

Whether they are protecting homes from intruders or keeping an eye on the machines in a factory, the use of sensors for monitoring and controlling purposes is on the rise. There are sensors that report when a window is opened suddenly and sensors that register when a machine is idling and wasting energy – to name just a couple of examples. With the aid of a microcontroller, these tiny devices analyze the situation so that they can then issue a signal via a wireless unit and receive instructions. In light of the growing number of such devices – known as sensor nodes – experts have for many years now been using the term “Internet of Things” (IoT): a network that will see a future in which many millions of devices connected via the Internet are used in both our own homes and industrial applications.

Energy demand to rival the whole of Germany

The vast numbers of sensor nodes that have been brought into play so far are already consuming huge quantities of energy. Even as far back as 2013, the energy consumption of all networked devices globally was already equal to the total demand for electrical energy in Germany as a whole, according to a study conducted by the International Energy Agency in Paris. Against this backdrop, eight Fraunhofer Institutes joined forces some time ago to form the Fraunhofer ZEPOWEL lighthouse project (see box), with the aim of developing highly energy-efficient sensor nodes. This year will see the introduction of two solutions that will approach the challenge presented by energy consumption from two different perspectives. One of these involves a self-sufficient sensor node that supplies itself with energy and collects environmental data on air quality, for example. The other involves a sensor node that records the operating state of machines, motors, or pumps in order to dramatically reduce their energy consumption.

“The sensor node hardware that we have developed in the project sets itself apart because it can be constructed modularly from various building blocks, allowing it to be adapted to a range of applications,” explains Erik Jung, project team member at the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM – the institute that has pieced together the individual developments from the participating institutes to create a functional whole. “A number of partners have contributed their insights on how to create efficient chips and control electronics, while others have offered their expertise on constructing small and efficient batteries and energy converters, and on secure wireless protocols.”  ... "