The University of Michigan may have developed the most sustainable sensor to date.
Researchers have created a 9-cubic millimeter solar-powered sensor that can theoretically run for the foreseeable future on renewable energy. The sensor is so small it's practically dwarfed by a penny, making it 1,000 times smaller than comparable commercial counterparts, allowing it to use 2,000 times less power.
The research team has spent the last three years working on ultra-low power circuit design (think nano and picowatts) and on current sensor for the last 18 months. It could be commercialized as soon as early 2011.
"There is nothing preventing this system
from becoming a commercialized product," says Dennis Sylvester, an
associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at
the University of Michigan and the co-principal investigator of the
project. "This is a significant step forward."
Part of what makes the sensor so significant is that it spends most of its time in sleep mode. It wakes up occasionally to take measurements, allowing it to conserve energy and only expend what it generates from its minuscule solar panels. The sensor's processor requires about half a volt to operate.
Commercial uses range from bio-medical devices to bridge and building sensors. The technology was recently demonstrated by Greg Chen, a computer science and engineering doctoral student at U-M.
Source: Dennis Sylvester, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan
Writer: Jon Zemke
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