As MEMS and Smart Material technologies advance, embedded and remote applications are becoming more widespread. Powering these systems can be a significant engineering problem, as traditional solutions such as batteries are not always appropriate. An inertial generator is developed that uses thick-film piezoelectric technologies to produce electrical power from vibrations in the environment of the device. The device validates the concept, and produces an output of 3 µW. Predictions show that orders of magnitude increase in power output are possible.

The use of alternative electrical energy sources to batteries is of particular significance to remote sensor systems. A vibration-powered micro-generator, based on a screen printed piezoelectric material, is proposed for this purpose. Theoretical and experimental results show that 2 µW can be generated for a vibration frequency of only 80 Hz. The device is not optimized and significant improvements are envisaged in the future.