03.13.19
The Mobile World Congress, the showcase for brand new electronics, came to an end in Barcelona and once again brought with it a wave of innovations from the wearables sector.
However, all new products require one thing – a powerful and reliable power supply.
The recently launched Smart2Go project, funded by the EU as part of the Horizon 2020 program, focuses precisely on this challenge – the development of an autonomous energy supply platform.
At the Wearable Europe Show 2019, the Fraunhofer FEP as project coordinator will present the project and its competencies and objectives at booth No. P12, April 10-11, 2019 in Berlin, Germany.
The widespread use of electronic devices worn on the body – wearables – is expected to be one of the major trends in the next one or two decades. First applications have already entered the market, like e.g. smartwatches or various types of fitness trackers. However, the main booming period is still expected to happen in the future. Health care applications, the Internet of Things as well as the reshaping of the interaction between humans and electronic devices will be the main drivers for this development. Presently various obstacles still hinder the expected rapid development. Apart from legal topics, like e.g. data security, there are also technological bottlenecks. The energy supply to wearable devices is probably the most serious challenge among these technological bottlenecks.
The Smart2Go project is exactly targeting this topic. The aim of the project is the creation of an autonomous energy-supply platform. Based on the results of the project it will be possible to use a wearable without caring about recharging over its entire lifetime. This aim will be achieved by the combination of a powerful battery with appropriate energy harvesting technologies. The performance of the energy supply platform will be demonstrated in two application cases.
The special feature of Smart2Go is the modularity of the components within the platform. This will enable manufacturers to easily adapt it to the various different applications after the end of the project. Additionally, the type of energy harvesting can be changed as well, further extending the variability of the platform. This concept is a major part of the expected impact of the project results. At the same time, this is the unique point that distinguishes the project from various other activities in this area.
The widespread use of electronic devices worn on the body – wearables – is expected to be one of the major trends in the next one or two decades. First applications have already entered the market, like e.g. smartwatches or various types of fitness trackers. However, the main booming period is still expected to happen in the future. Health care applications, the Internet of Things as well as the reshaping of the interaction between humans and electronic devices will be the main drivers for this development. Presently various obstacles still hinder the expected rapid development. Apart from legal topics, like e.g. data security, there are also technological bottlenecks. The energy supply to wearable devices is probably the most serious challenge among these technological bottlenecks.
The Smart2Go project is exactly targeting this topic. The aim of the project is the creation of an autonomous energy-supply platform. Based on the results of the project it will be possible to use a wearable without caring about recharging over its entire lifetime. This aim will be achieved by the combination of a powerful battery with appropriate energy harvesting technologies. The performance of the energy supply platform will be demonstrated in two application cases.
The special feature of Smart2Go is the modularity of the components within the platform. This will enable manufacturers to easily adapt it to the various different applications after the end of the project. Additionally, the type of energy harvesting can be changed as well, further extending the variability of the platform. This concept is a major part of the expected impact of the project results. At the same time, this is the unique point that distinguishes the project from various other activities in this area.
