Summer Internship - Materials, Engineering and Manufacturing - Scion

Main aim of work/project:

The project aims to prototype an energy harvester that will transform mechanical packaging vibration into electricity. The student will demonstrate the use of such energy conversion in battery-less sensor monitoring as part of the "packaging-traceability" program.

Research Abstract

Driven by advances in wireless sensor networks and the Internet of Things (IoTs), smart monitoring for packaging applications has become possible. However, powering these IoT sensors remains a challenge. Traditionally, wireless sensors are powered by batteries that have a limited operating lifetime, and which cause serious environmental and health issues at their end of life. Developing a technology that can supply sustainable energy is therefore highly desirable to enable the deployment of wireless sensors for packaging monitoring. Mechanical vibration occurs during product transport and handling of packaging, which is an untapped sustainable source for energy. The aim of this project is to design, assemble and test an energy harvester device that can capture both low frequency and high frequency vibrations for power generation. The harvester will be tested on packaging boxes for battery-less wireless sensor applications, such as humidity sensors.

What the student will do

The candidate will be working on:

• Energy harvester system design and components integration
• Energy harvesting output performance evaluation and optimisation
• Demonstration of battery-less packaging sensor monitoring

In the project, and with the support of the wider packaging team, the student will gain scientific and practical experience in state-of-the-art technology (e.g. printed electronics and biomaterials) and industry-related packaging research (e.g. packaging testing and manufacture).

Qualifications, skills and attributes needed:

• Mechatronics background
• Device set-up and monitoring experience
• Basic programming skills
• Ability to work independently