Analysis of Direct Discharge Circuit to Power Autonomous Wear-able Devices using PVDF Piezoelectric Films

Advances in low power design open the possibility to harvest energy from the environment to power electronic circuits. A piezoelectric element is capable of transform mechanical energy into electrical energy. Several methods are possible to efficiently store the generated electrical energy. Direct discharge method is here analyzed for a realistic piezoelectric current source waveform when the mechanical excitation is human walking activity. This analysis allows to predict how many steps are needed to provide a given amount of energy to an electronic device.