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Scaling Up the IoT Game: The MEMSYS Advantage
Ditching batteries one device at a time, MEMSYS is revolutionizing the world of Internet of Things (IoT) with its groundbreaking energy harvesting technology. Every single day, we chuck away 80 million batteries along with 40 million IoT sensors. That's an environmental disaster, coupled with hefty maintenance costs and operational downtime. MEMSYS aims to remedy this issue.
"We're not just talking trash – it's 80 million batteries and 40 million sensors we aim to salvage."
- Thijs Blad
Thijs Blad is the dynamic mind behind MEMSYS, a company that excels in kinetic energy harvesting for self-powered industrial devices. He earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from TU Delft, specializing in energy extraction from mechanical vibrations. Thijs founded MEMSYS in 2022, intentionally bridging the gap between academic research and practical applications in the Industrial IoT (IIoT) field.
Embracing the Vibes: How MEMSYS Stays Powered
While some opt for solar or heat-based solutions, MEMSYS takes a different path. They extract power from one constituent element that every machine unwillingly generates – vibrations. With a cozy collaboration with flexible structures called compliant mechanisms, and piezoelectric materials, their device maintains functionality, even when vibration patterns shift. That's a significant edge over existing energy harvesters, which limit performance to narrow frequency ranges due to their structure.
MEMSYS works tirelessly with sensor manufacturers and predictive maintenance providers to integrate their energy harvesters into practical scenarios, hoping to eventually miniaturize their technology into MEMS devices, ready for full Printed Circuit Board (PCB) integration.
How MEMSYS sparks a current
Thijs: "Flexible structures, more accurately called compliant mechanisms, bend rather than rotate to always conform with shifting vibrations. These flexible structures deform, transfer motion into our piezoelectric elements, which produce power."
Unlike rigid resonators, which sharply decrease efficiency when the vibration frequency changes by just a few hertz, MEMSYS' compliant structure maintains its power performance across a broader range. This permits harvesting energy even when the vibration source alters its speed. In one instance, they've managed to create over one milliwatt of power across a 40 Hz bandwidth, centered around a 50 Hz vibration source. While it's not a massive amount of power, it's enough to power many industrial IoT sensors more frequently than the battery-operated alternatives.
Comparing MEMSYS' output to the competition
Thijs: "Sure, the numbers might be impressive from other harvesters, but they only thrive in controlled lab conditions. Tweak the vibration even slightly, and their power output plummets by 90%. We've chosen to render slightly less peak power but sustain that power across diverse frequency ranges, ensuring performance in real-world environments."
With their recent prototype, they guarantee one milliwatt of power across an actual industrial setting, permitting more frequent readings up to six times compared to battery-powered systems. So instead of checking your vibration sensor once per hour, you could check it six times. That's a game-changer for predictive maintenance.
Industrial Landscapes: Where MEMSYS takes root
Thijs: "We're targeting sectors ripe with vibrations, such as railways, steel manufacturing, pumps, or any system that's in motion 24/7. These industries routinely employ IoT sensors for monitoring performance and scheduling maintenance. However, challenges arise in battery or wired solutions that fail to scale."
MEMSYS' energy harvester offers a consistent power source that can be plugged into existing sensors, providing a benefit even in challenging locations. They also envision possibilities like asset tracking, Bluetooth beacons, and even future MEMS-scale sensors directly integrated onto circuit boards. But their immediate focus revolves around installing external power boxes for predictive maintenance sensors, followed by internal modules that replace existing batteries.
Seamless Integration: Hassle-free Power Upgrades
Thijs: "Quite effortless. Our first product is rather a 'plug-and-play' power box. It links to your existing sensor and extends its lifespan while enhancing performance."
They work closely with both sensor manufacturers and end-users to ensure their power solutions can integrate smoothly within existing systems with minimal modifications. Essentially, it's about providing a power solution that doesn't demand costly overhaul of existing sensors, just an upgrade in the power source.
Manufacturing Challenges: A Deep Engineering Journey
Thijs: "Indeed, especially as we move towards MEMS-scale production. The compliant mechanisms we rely on depend on controlled buckling, i.e., intentionally pushing a material to its limit to create a desirable response. In the macro scale, it's manageable. However, at the MEMS scale, future materials like silicon make the game harder."
MEMSYS sweats the details when it comes to developing manufacturing strategies to tackle MEMS-scale production with controlled buckling. One possible solution is embedding the preload stress during the fabrication process rather than manually applying it through compression. It's a complex engineering challenge, but it's the problem they wish to solve.
Powering the Future: Beyond Industrial
Thijs: "You bet! Smart shoes already employ similar energy harvesting methods. Clothing applications may favor force-based rather than vibration-based systems, but it's possible. For electric cars, powering an entire battery is a farfetched dream. However, powering tire pressure monitoring sensors in each wheel? Totally feasible. We can place a local harvester right in the wheel that powers the sensor from motion – no wires, no battery swaps."
Connected to Your Interests: Who's the Ideal Customer?
Thijs: "We aim to collaborate with both IoT sensor users and manufacturers. With users, we desire to increase sensor lifespan and improve data quality. Manufacturers play a crucial role in integrating the harvester into their devices. Essentially, it's a two-pronged strategy."
In the grand scheme of things, the average user doesn't care how their sensor is powered. However, they do care about performance, maintenance, and stability. If we can offer them extended lifespan, more frequent readings, and better data – all without extra costs or complications – that would be a win-win situation for everyone.
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- MEMSYS' technology, being based in data-and-cloud-computing, aims to minimize expenditures in the finance sector by reducing the need for frequent battery replacements in industrial devices.
- The energy harvesting technology developed by MEMSYS in the field of technology can potentially contribution to the reduction of CO2 emissions in the energy sector, as it eliminates the need for millions of batteries in IoT devices each day.
- As MEMSYS expands its market presence in the industry, they are not only revolutionizing the IoT space, but also paving the way for advanced gadgets with self-powered capabilities, driving innovation in mobile devices, wearables, and beyond.
