Hybrid rotary-translational vibration energy harvester using cycloidal motion as a mechanical amplifier

This paper reports on a hybrid rotary-translational vibration energy harvesting approach that exploits cycloidal motion to achieve a relatively high power density from an oscillatory kinetic energy harvester operating at frequencies below 10 Hz. The approach uses a rolling magnetic sphere. The rolling motion mechanically amplifies the velocity at which the magnetic pole of the sphere passes a nearby coil transducer, inducing a proportionally larger electro-motive force across the coil. A prototype cycloidal energy harvester is shown to produce a peak power of 201 mW from a host vibration of 500 mg rms at 5.4 Hz.