Recovery of the energy of mechanical vibrations

The aim of the recovery of energy in the environment and its conversion into electricity is to increase the autonomy of portable or abandoned systems by replacing or complementing their primary power source. This approach thus reduces the number of cells or batteries which are commonly used to power these systems, but are highly polluting to the environment. The recovery of energy can use different sources such as solar radiation, thermal flows or mechanical vibrations. The mechanical energy available in our environment is a source of energy of significant density, present in all environments and even hostile ones. It is therefore interesting to convert this energy into electricity in order to power sensors or actuators. In this article, the operational principle of the recovery of mechanical vibrations is presented. The three principal modes of transduction by piezoelectric, electrostatic and electromagnetic effect are also dealt with and compared from the point of view of efficiency, yield, integration and miniaturization.