Piezoelectric vibration energy harvesting system with an adaptive frequency tuning mechanism for intelligent tires

The high vibration levels inside a tire have the potential to generate electrical power using vibration based energy harvesting techniques. In this paper, the feasibility of using an inertial vibrating energy harvester unit to power a sensor module inside the tire is assessed. The harvester unit is adapted to the tire vibration spectra and the superimposed acceleration signal. First prototypes demonstrate power generation capabilities sufficient enough to transmit tire sensor data multiple times per minute. To optimize the harvester performance with changing dominant tire vibration frequencies, a novel artificial neural network (ANN) based closed loop system capable of ensuring broad band operations has been proposed. By presenting a batteryless power supply unit, the proposed system addresses one of the key challenges in the realization of the intelligent tire concept. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.