Harvesting is a viable, but not a simple or easy, option for powering IoT designs. It requires careful consideration of the harvestable source; harvesting transducer type, implementation and siting; energy/power chain efficiency; required power levels; the energy storage component; and the associated power-management electronics. As with any great design, careful planning and assessment will tell you if it is feasible and if so, with what limitations.
The clever “solar dice” design kit mentioned in the article (see https://goo.gl/YRPsFf). Anybody care to share application ideas?
will energy harvesting ever go mainstream (ie move out of the microwatt and nanoamp realm), or is it forever relegated to fringe applications?