工業網絡的能量收集

　　本文討論了在工業環境中為獨立網絡節點提供電力、從振動、太陽能和熱源獲取能量的技術和技術。

　　能源管理是任何工業運作中越來越重要的組成部分。電力和煤氣是主要的間接費用，而保持這些成本是一個長期的挑戰。同時，越來越多的網絡傳感器可以在車間內使用，以監控日益增長的能源需求。對于這樣的machine-2-machine市場（M2M）聯網單位預計將增長到超過500億的設備在未來的十年里，他們都需要運行功率。

　　雖然在工業環境中，這些M2M單元通常在附近有一個能源；連接一個網絡節點到一個電源插座是昂貴和費時的。隨著芯片制造技術的進步，大大降低了功耗，以及可以提供長距離低功耗的頻率和協議，這些單位現在可以利用當地環境來產生自己的電力。這種能量可以來自各種各樣的來源，從移動設備的振動能量到溫差，甚至來自室內照明的能量。

　　These are often used alongside a rechargeable battery that acts as a power source and a backup， but the key point is that these do not need replacing and can last the lifetime of the equipment as they are constantly recharged by the energy harvesting circuits. Such units are also self-contained so that they can be placed in areas that are hard to reach and where it would be difficult to replace the batteries， giving more flexibility to the operations manager to place these sensors and network nodes in exactly the optimum location.

　　Solar energy

　　The Silicon Labs Solar Energy Harvesting Board with Thin Film Battery （Figure 1） is an evaluation board that contains all the necessary elements to provide a networked node that is powered from indoor lighting or the sun. It is aimed at systems that wake periodically to measure and transmit results and， as it is powered from an energy harvesting source， the life expectancy of the thin film battery is greater than 15 years or 7000 mAh. This also means the wireless node can be designed with a very thin profile as the battery height is 0.17 mm to fit into the tightest spaces.