Wireless sensor nodes (WSNs) are generally powered by batteries, which results in a substantial limitation to the places where the nodes can be installed, to the maximum number of deployable devices, and to the node lifetime. To meet the demand for Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications that require a large number of maintenance-free, low cost, wireless sensor nodes, this paper proposes a wireless sensor platform with a single photovoltaic transducer that performs the dual role of harvesting energy and sensing ambient light. This dual use allows even smaller and cheaper nodes that do not require any form of supporting external power, with a reduced component count. The device implements off-the-shelf components on a 2 x 2cm2 printed circuit board (PCB) with a thickness of 0.45 cm. It features Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication and can harvest and sense indoor ambient light with a limit of detection of 200 lux.

Wireless sensor nodes (WSNs) are the fundamental part of an Internet of Things (IoT) system for detecting and transmitting data to a master node for processing. Several research studies reveal that one of the disadvantages of conventional, battery-powered WSNs, however, is that they typically require periodic maintenance. This paper aims to contribute to existing research studies on this issue by exploring a new energy-autonomous and battery-free WSN concept for monitor vibrations. The node is self-powered from the conversion of ambient mechanical vibration energy into electrical energy through a piezoelectric transducer implemented with lead-free lithium niobate piezoelectric material to also explore solutions that go towards a greener and more sustainable IoT. Instead of implementing any particular sensors, the vibration measurement system exploits the proportionality between the mechanical power generated by a piezoelectric transducer and the time taken to store it as electrical energy in a capacitor. This helps reduce the component count with respect to conventional WSNs, as well as energy consumption and production costs, while optimizing the overall node size and weight. The readout is therefore a function of the time it takes for the energy storage capacitor to charge between two constant voltage levels. The result of this work is a system that includes a specially designed lead-free piezoelectric vibrational transducer and a battery-less sensor platform with Bluetooth low energy (BLE) connectivity. The system can harvest energy in the acceleration range [0.5 g–1.2 g] and measure vibrations with a limit of detection (LoD) of 0.6 g.

Microfabrication procedure of piezoelectric micro electro-mechanical systems based on 5 μm thick LiNbO₃ films on SiO₂/Si substrate at wafer scale including deep dry etching of thick LiNbO₃ films by implementing pulsed mode of Ar/SF₆ gas was developed. In particular, two (YXlt)/128°/90°LiNbO₃-Si cantilevers with tip mass were fabricated and characterized in terms of resonance frequency (511 and 817 Hz), actuation and acceleration sensing capabilities. The quality factor of 89.5 and the electromechanical coupling of 4.8% were estimated from measured frequency dependency of electrical impedance, fitted by using Butterworth–Van Dyke model. The fabricated piezoelectric micro-electro-mechanical systems have demonstrated highly linear displacement with good sensitivity (5.28 ± 0.02 μm V⁻¹) as a function of applied voltage and high sensitivity to vibrations of 667 mV g⁻¹ indicating a suitability of the structure for actuation purposes and for acceleration or frequency sensing with high precision, respectively.

Monitoring the health of power lines (PL) is essential for ensuring reliable power delivery, facilitating predictive maintenance, and maintaining a resilient grid infrastructure. Given the extensive length of PL networks, large numbers of wireless sensor nodes must be deployed, often in remote and harsh environments where battery replacement is costly and impractical. To address these limitations, this work proposes a hybrid energy-harvesting approach that combines piezoelectric and photovoltaic (PV) technologies to enable long-term, battery-free PL monitoring. The primary energy source is a compact, tunable, magnetically coupled piezoelectric vibrational energy harvester (VEH) that exploits local magnetic field distribution, inducing mechanical excitation of a cantilever and enabling the harvesting of vibrational energy near the PL at a frequency of 50 Hz. A complementary PV harvester is integrated to ensure operation during power outages or conditions where the piezoelectric excitation is reduced, thereby enhancing system robustness. Electromechanical characterization and a lumped-parameter model show good agreement with experimental results of the proposed VEH. The system is validated both on a PL test bench (5 A–10 A) and through inertial excitation using an electrodynamic shaker, demonstrating stable performance across a wide range of operating conditions. The combined hybrid architecture highlights a promising pathway toward self-sustaining, maintenance-free sensor nodes for next-generation power line monitoring. Finally, we demonstrate the feasibility of using such system for powering a WSN node by comparing the power produced by the proposed system with the power consumption of a potential application.