Energy harvesting

Written by the Electronicstalk editor Jul 1, 2009

Every time I visit the beautiful city of London, I'm always approached by rather down and out individuals who claim to be in need of a few pounds so that they might get a bite to eat.

Inevitably, I end up giving the poor souls the change that's in my pocket, even though the few bob I do provide is more than likely to supplement a drug habit rather than be spent on food.

But whether you too feel pity for such folks or ignore them, one thing is for certain. Somehow, through their own diligence and perseverance, they manage to get enough cash to survive, simply by 'harvesting' cash from the rest of the population.

This concept of harvesting now appears to be catching on in the engineering community too, where engineers have now developed a system that will extract energy from the surroundings, allowing them to get something for nothing too.

And how have they done this, I hear you ask? Well, it's an approach that is so simple that it beggars belief. It comprises, quite simply, a plate that is placed in the road.

When you or I drive onto the plate, the plate is depressed. After you have passed, the plate returns to its original state. The reciprocating motion of the plate is then used to drive a generator attached to the plate through mechanical linkages that creates electric power.

This electricity is then harvested by the owners of the plate for their own benefits - in most cases to power a large establishment close to the vicinity of the plate itself.

The proprietors of the establishment, of course, see nothing wrong with this approach. Just the opposite in fact. They are proud to tout the benefits of the so-called green technology that creates power for them for free, obfuscating the fact that this is really at the expense of the motorist that visits their establishment.

Now don't get me wrong. I've got nothing against deploying technology that will really get you something for nothing. Wind power and solar power are two perfect examples of means of generating electricity in a truly environmentally friendly way.

But let's not dress up schemes that aren't genuinely free with green credentials in the hope of convincing poor old Joe Public that somehow he will be benefiting society at no cost to himself every time he visits an establishment fitted out with the aforementioned devices.

I, for one, have no trouble with parting with some of my cash to help the needy should they approach me, In fact, I'm glad to help whenever I can. Getting robbed in the name of the environment, however, is another matter entirely.

Top Products featured this issue

[1]  SYNCHRONOUS BUCK REGULATOR LAUNCHED BY LINEAR

(Linear Technology Corp, 01 Jul 2009)

Linear Technology has launched the LTC3609 - a synchronous buck regulator that can deliver up to 6A of continuous output current at voltages as low as 0.6V.

[2]  ITT COF FILTERS PROVIDE PLATFORM FOR TVS CONNECTOR

(ITT Interconnect Solutions, 29 Jun 2009)

The chip-on-flex (CoF) filters from ITT Interconnect Solutions provide the framework for a new TVS surge suppression connector.

[3]  THREE-PHASE INPUT MODELS ADDED TO RANGE

(TDK-Lambda UK, 01 Jul 2009)

TDK-Lambda has introduced three-phase input models to complement its DPP range of DIN rail power supplies.

[4]  CONGATEC ADDS XA945 MODULE TO RANGE

(Congatec, 01 Jul 2009)

Congatec has announced the Conga-XA945 module as the latest addition to the company's ETX/XTX product family.

[5]  AAEON LAUNCHES ETX-CX700M PRODUCT

(Aaeon, 30 Jun 2009)

Aaeon has announced the ETX-CX700M - an Embedded Technology Extended (ETX) product based on the VIA C7/Eden (V4) series processors combined with the VIA CX700M chipset.

[6]  UEI DNA/DNR 1553 INTERFACE BOARDS ADDED BY ADEPT

(Adept Scientific, 30 Jun 2009)

Adept Scientific has added the DNA/DNR-1553-553 two-channel, dual redundant, 1553 bus interface boards from United Electronic Industries.

[7]  NI ANNOUNCES PXI EXPRESS-BASED TEST INSTRUMENTS

(National Instruments, 29 Jun 2009)

National Instruments has introduced two 32-channel PXI Express-based digital instruments and an eight-slot high-bandwidth PXI Express 3U chassis for advanced automated test applications.

[8]  TRANSDUCERS HANDLE MECHANICAL SHOCK AND VIBRATION

(RDP Electronics, 30 Jun 2009)

RDP Electronics has developed a range of LVDT and magnetostrictive transducers for use in the testing of vehicle suspension systems.

[9]  TYCO RN73 RESISTORS AVAILABLE FROM TTI

(Tyco Electronics UK, 30 Jun 2009)

The RN73 series precision chip resistors from Tyco Electronics is now available from TTI.

[10]  NI OFFERS REDUCED-PRICE RETRAINING PROGRAMMES

(National Instruments, 29 Jun 2009)

National Instruments has announced a programme to support engineers who have recently been made redundant by reducing the cost of NI Labview training and certification.

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Dave Wilson

Electronicstalk editor

Dave Wilson
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