Will Power Harvesting Replace Batteries?

You can argue that battery technology and power optimization have kept pace with the demands of wireless sensors and mobile electronics. Why invest in power harvesting that lasts a lifetime when the devices it supports become obsolete in a few years? But convenience is a powerful motivator, and operational overhead is a pivotal consideration. One estimate projects labor costs for changing batteries in network applications over a nine-year period will be more than $1 billion. Technologies that convert motion, vibration, radio waves, and environmental gradients into electricity could replace batteries as power sources for many electronic devices. Will one technology win, or can the two coexist?

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