CURRENT WAYS TO HARVEST ENERGY USING A COMPUTER MOUSE

Frantisek Horvat,Igor Jedinak,Branislav Hucko,Michal Cekan,Lukas Soltes,Peter Biath

doi:10.14311/ap.2014.54.0019

Frantisek Horvat, Igor Jedinak + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.14311/ap.2014.54.0019

Copy DOI

Abstract

This paper deals with the idea of an energy harvesting (EH) system that uses the mechanical energy from finger presses on the buttons of a computer mouse by means of a piezomaterial (PVF2). The piezomaterial is placed in the mouse at the interface between the button and the body. This paper reviews the parameters of the PVF2 piezomaterial and tests their possible implementation into EH systems utilizing these types of mechanical interactions. The paper tests the viability of two EH concepts: a battery management system, and a semi-autonomous system. A statistical estimate of the button operations is performed for various computer activities, showing that an average of up to 3300 mouse clicks per hour was produced for gaming applications, representing a tip frequency of 0.91 Hz on the PVF2 member. This frequency is tested on the PVF2 system, and an assessment of the two EH systems is reviewed. The results show that fully autonomous systems are not suitable for capturing low-frequency mechanical interactions, due to the parameters of current piezomaterials, and the resulting very long startup phase. However, a hybrid EH system which uses available power to initiate the circuit and eliminate the startup phase may be explored for future studies.

Highlights

Many studies involving energy harvesting (EH) from human activity have concentrated on mounting an EH device to the body itself and using human motion to generate electrical energy [1]
Whether for work or for play, humans interact extensively with their personal computer (PC), and this interaction can be considered for EH
Studies have already been made for the potential application of EH circuits based on a piezomaterial, and have shown the possibility of applying it for battery management of cardiostimulators [2]

Summary

Introduction

Many studies involving energy harvesting (EH) from human activity have concentrated on mounting an EH device to the body itself and using human motion to generate electrical energy [1]. Considering the enormous number of people who interact with a PC every day, for work and for entertainment, on a large scale, the energy that is generated offers potential for EH [3]. On average, how many interactions humans perform with a computer mouse, a statistical analysis was carried out for various activities performed by 10 volunteers. Using a computer program that monitors mouse clicks per hour [4], each volunteer was asked to measure their interactions over one hour of typical work. Following this analysis, the same volunteers were asked to perform a measurement after one hour of gaming. A suitable EH model, material, and configuration must be considered

Method

Measurement and results

Findings

Conclusions