I-Corps: Energy harvesting platform for tire monitoring and communication

I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响和商业潜力是改进车辆轮胎故障的预测，并使车辆预防性维护系统成为可能。该技术可用于驱动智能汽车轮胎传感器，为轮胎维护和更换提供警报。这项技术将改进现有胎压监测系统的功能，提高汽车行驶的安全性。美国每年都有数以万计的机动车因轮胎故障而发生撞车事故。轮胎故障也是路边紧急事故的主要原因，这些事故还会造成经济损失、时间延误和安全问题。所提出的技术可能有助于解决这些问题，并使改进的轮胎失效预测成为可能，这在传统的轮胎压力监测系统中是不可能的。这个I-Corps项目开发了一种基于柔性纳米线的压电能量收集器，可以有效地将车辆轮胎的机械振动或应变转化为电能。该系统即使在轮胎所经历的高温下也能保持压电特性。因此，无电池激励器可用于为不断发展的智能轮胎传感器家族提供动力，这些传感器可以监控各种车辆和道路状况。与许多基于电池的解决方案相比，作为一种稳定的能量来源，该能量收集平台可以提供更大的灵活性，并支持先进的轮胎传感功能。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to improve prediction of vehicle tire failure and enable systems for vehicle preventative maintenance. The proposed technology may be used to power smart vehicle tire sensors that will give alerts for tire maintenance and replacement. This technology will improve the functionality of the current tire pressure monitoring systems and improve the safety of automobile travel. Each year in the U.S. there are tens of thousands of motor vehicle crashes due to tire failures. Tire failure is also responsible for a significant portion of roadside emergencies which also cause financial loss, time delay, and safety concerns. The proposed technology may help address these problems and enable improved tire failure prediction which is not possible in conventional tire pressure monitoring systems.This I-Corps project develops a flexible nanowire-based piezoelectric energy harvester that can effectively convert the mechanical vibration or strain of a vehicle tire into electric power. The system can retain the piezo-electric properties even at the high operating temperatures experienced by the tire. As a result, the batteryless energizer can be used to power evolving families of smart tire sensors that can monitor various vehicle and road conditions. By functioning as a stable energy source with improved power budget compared to many battery-based solutions, the proposed energy harvesting platform may provide more flexibility and support advanced tire sensing features.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.