Research Collaborations Driving Energy Harvesting TRL progression for IoT Ecosystem
Energy-autonomous sensing is a key enabler for the next generation of smart systems integration, addressing critical challenges related to scalability, sustainability, and lifecycle cost across large-scale distributed sensing infrastructures. The RISE Sensor Technology unit focuses on the development and deployment of energy-autonomous IoT sensor platforms that combine advanced energy harvesting, low-power electronics to enable resilient, maintenance-free sensing in real-world industrial environments.
A central research challenge lies in moving beyond component-level innovation toward smart-system integration. Energy harvesters must be co-designed with materials, electronics, packaging techniques, and communication architectures to achieve robust performance under harsh environmental conditions such as temperature variations, moisture, and mechanical stress. Achieving this vision requires cross-disciplinary collaboration between materials science, microelectronics, system integration, and industrial end-users, alongside pilot lines, testbeds, and competence centres that bridge research and deployment.
To accelerate adoption, nanogenerator-based sensors must be validated beyond laboratory environments. We present an automotive case study for benchmarking of two types of kinetic harvester (piezoelectric and triboelectric) illustrating application driven development that advances technology readiness from design to field deployment. The demonstrated approach supports flexible retrofit, large-scale asset monitoring, reduced battery waste, and contributes to sustainable and green industrial sensing solutions.