Energy Harvesting Network Conference and Open Access Data Repository

The Energy Harvesting Network is holding its annual one-day conference “Energy Harvesting 2012â€? on Wednesday 28 March, where it will announce details of the Energy Harvesting Open Access Data Repository. The repository is an online resource for researchers to share detailed data on energy availability and characteristics.

At present the data available for download include detailed vibration data from a variety of transport and machinery applications and these will be expanded to include data on wind, light irradiance and human-body motion. All data is contributed by the community, and researchers are encouraged to upload their data. All data is available for free download allowing researchers to compare and evaluate their energy harvesting designs and analysis using a common dataset. The repository can be viewed at http://eh-network.org/data

The ‘Energy Harvesting 2012’ event on 28 March provides a platform for disseminating energy-harvesting advances in the UK, and includes presentations from well-respected speakers from academia and industry, demonstrations from companies, and posters from postgraduate students. Registration costs £50 (a subsidised rate of £25 is available for academics), while PhD students who bring and present a poster can attend for free (there are only a few poster spaces left).

Speakers at the event include Professor Peter Woias (IMTEK, Germany), Frank Schmidt (CTO Enocean), Professor Vittorio Ferrari (University of Brescia, Italy), Roy Freeland (Perpetuum) and Professor Eric Yeatman (Imperial College, London). For further information and instructions on how to register, please visit http://eh-network.org/events/eh2012.php

The Energy Harvesting Network is managed by Professor Steve Beeby and Dr Geoff Merrett of ECS-Electronics and Computer Science at the University of Southampton, and was launched in March 2010. The Network is funded by the EPSRC, and aims to define new research challenges, facilitate interaction between researchers and industry, and to disseminate latest advances in technology.

Further information on the Energy Harvesting Network, including details of how to join for free, can be found at http://www.eh-network.org