Intelligent green energy device as a peripheral sensing

• Main Author: Tan, Kuan Wee.
• Other Authors: Ong Yew Soon
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Computer science and engineering::Hardware
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/48522
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

With the recent improvements in low power electronics and wireless technology, we are now surrounded with electronics which are reducing in size. Thus, there is a real need for a reliable way to power such low-energy electronic devices. Also, with the world looking towards replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy, green energy is a fast expanding field of study. Green energy is of a huge importance for a small island like Singapore. With no natural resources and shortage of land, the country has been fully reliant on fossil fuels. With the successful implementation of various green technologies into its energy grid, cost-savings could be reaped and a good image of the government could be portrayed to the global community. In this project, the feasibility to effectively apply Piezoelectricity into practical entertainment devices will be examined. This project aims to harvest energy using piezoelectric materials which converts mechanical stress into electrical energy. This energy will then be used in gaming applications like a gaming console. This report will introduce the basic principle of piezoelectric technology, test the applications of different piezoelectric components, create an energy harvesting device and implement the energy harvester to interact with a custom built Xbox 360 game. The purpose of testing out applications in gaming is due to the rising importance of gaming in the modern world. Through games and play, creative ideas to solve complex problems could be generated. It could also be used to educate the younger generation the importance of not wasting energy. This experiment successfully achieved all of its aims and proved that piezoelectricity is a feasible green energy alternative. There are significant advantages on future research on piezoelectricity which could generate feasible commercial applications in future.