Pervasive ComPuting

Energy Harvesting
for Self-Sustainable
Wireless Body
Area Networks

Fayaz Akhtar and Mubashir Husain Rehmani, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Pakistan

Recent technological advancements have given rise to prominent

techniques for viably addressing energy constraints in pervasive sensor
networks. This article reviews several potential energy-harvesting
sources for wireless body area networks.

T
he miniaturization of electronic devices
has directed considerable attention to
enabling seamless medical and non-
medical monitoring (as well as other
servicing) applications. This has led to advance-
ments in wireless sensor networks and the ex-
pansion of wireless body area networks (WBAN).
WBAN involves distributed, low-power, wear-
able, and implantable sensor nodes that can store
and transmit monitored data to remote locations.
These nodes can be exploited in a wide range of
applications, including health monitoring, as-
sisted living, telemedicine, fitness tracking, and
so on.1 Being low-cost and compact, these devices
are conventionally equipped with limited energy
sources—typically, rechargeable batteries of finite
capacity. These batteries not only induce perfor-
mance bottleneck but are also likely to be deplet-
ed frequently, thus restricting service availability.
In most scenarios, these batteries are irreplace-
able because sensor devices must be autonomous
and might be implanted inside the body.
Numerous research efforts at various layers have
focused on minimizing energy constraints via
energy-efficient protocols, conservation schemes,
and effective topology design. However, energy
limitations remain a critical constraint making
WBAN usage less desirable. Due to recent techno-
logical advancements, various battery recharging
techniques have been proposed to eliminate energy

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restrictions. These mechanisms can be broadly
classified into two categories: wireless power transfer 2
and energy harvesting.
Wireless power transfer involves the wireless
transfer of electrical energy using techniques such
as inductive coupling, magnetic resonant cou-
pling, and electromagnetic radiation. These meth-
ods work well most of the time, but require the
wearer to be in the proximity of an energy trans-
mitter, which is limited to several meters only.
Moreover, line of sight and a constant electrical
source are also necessary. Static devices might
meet these conditions, but for mobile devices, ful-
filling such requirements isn’t always possible.
In contrast, energy harvesting involves scav-
enging power from a variety of limitless ambient
sources and converting it to usable electric ener-
gy. Energy harvesting can be considered a viable
solution for enhancing operational lifetimes be-
cause it is not restricted by limited range or line of
sight. Moreover, energy is available in an infinite
capacity and a variety of forms. Furthermore, en-
ergy harvesting can enable real-time monitoring
of various biological parameters using in-body
sources, thus providing self-sustainable systems.
In this article, we provide a concise review of
current research on energy harvesting in WBAN.
Specifically, we discuss potential harvestable
sources, and their characteristics and usability in
minimizing energy constraints. We also discuss
current formidable challenges in exploiting these
sources and possible future research directions.
Energy Harvesting and WBAN
Several sources of nonelectric renewable energy
exist all around us. Power from these sources
can be harnessed using appropriate hardware
and converted to electrical form to fulfill energy
requirements, referred to as energy harvesting.
Although it is not a new concept, given that it has
been implemented on a large scale worldwide,
its exploitation in compact devices such as sen-
sor nodes is a trending topic in both academia
and industry. This self-reliant solution can pro-
vide an almost green energy supply by reducing
system costs and electrical waste in the form of
depleted (dead) batteries. Energy harvesting can
also make WBAN usage more practical by reduc-
ing its energy constraints. Recent advances have
made it possible to scavenge energy from a variety
of sources in the human body, which was previ-
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ously impossible or not thought of. Table 1 lists
several of these energy sources.
Figure 1 illustrates the general harvesting pro-
cess. First, energy from nonelectrical sources is
scavenged and converted to electric potential using
appropriate energy harvesters for specific sourc-
es. The electric energy produced can then be uti-
lized in two ways, depending on the sensor node’s
architecture: harvest-use and harvest-store-use.3
With harvest-use, the electrical energy produced
is directly utilized by the sensor load without any
form of storage involved. Consequently, the energy
harvester must provide a continuous power output
that must be greater than the minimum power re-
quired by the node for optimal functioning. With
harvest-store-use architecture, the generated ener-
gy is stored for present or later use. Energy storage
can be typical rechargeable batteries, super capaci-
tors, or a combination of both.
A drawback of energy harvesting in compact
devices is that such devices can only produce a
limited amount of energy; thus, for sensor nodes
to function indefinitely, harvested energy must
be greater than the average consumed energy.
The output power of an energy harvester de-
pends entirely on the available energy and the
con­version efficiency. For this reason, it is crucial
to understand the environment of a prospective
application, and to locate possible energy-
harvesting sources. Fortunately, most WBAN
nodes are low-powered devices, so integrating
energy-harvesting modules in them can enable
wearers to go on with their daily routines with-
out having to worry about energy depletion. Un-
like conventional sensor networks, which usually
harvest energy from environmental sources,
WBANs can harvest energy from a variety of
sources available in the ambient environment
or the body itself. Potential harvestable sources
in WBAN can be classified into two broad cat-
egories, as depicted in Figure 2: energy sources
from the human body, and ambient energy. We
now discuss each of these approaches, along with
their benefits and drawbacks.
Energy Sources from the Human Body
The human body itself contains ample sources
of energy that can be utilized to power both im-
planted and on-body sensors. Depending on the
nature of the energy, we can classify its sources
into biochemical and biomechanical energy
 Pervasive Computing

Table 1. Potential wireless body area network energy sources.

Type Energy Source Harvesting techniques

4–8
Biochemical Electrochemical Glucose Enzymatic biofuel cell

Electrochemical Lactate Enzymatic biofuel cell

Electrochemical Endocochlear Endoelectronics chip

potential

Biomechanical9–11 Vibration Blood pressure Piezoelectric

Vibration Heartbeat Mass imbalance oscillation, piezoelectric,

nanowire

Vibration Breathing Electromagnetic induction

Vibration Locomotion Generative braking, piezoelectric,

electrostatic,
nanogenerators

Ambient12–14 Light Sun, various indoor Photovoltaic cell

and outdoor lighting

Electromagnetic TV towers, base Rectenna

radiation stations, cell phones,
routers

Heat Body, sun, system Thermoelectricity

losses

sources. The former deals with energy sources
present in the body and can generate electric en-
ergy when exposed to electrochemical reactions.
The latter depends on the voluntary and involun-
tary actions of the human body, which can easily
be converted into electric potential.
Biochemical energy sources. The biofluids
present inside the human body involve a variety
of substances and active enzymes that provide
energy to the body. Under certain conditions,
these chemical compounds can be harvested via
electrochemical reactions. The energy scavenged

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 Source characteristics Harvesting pros (+)/cons (–) Maximum power density
Glucose in the body is used to generate energy + Compact harvester 180 µW/cm2
+ Steadily available
− Low energy
− Requires invasive procedure
Energy is produced from lactate in saliva and + Compact harvester 44 µW/cm2
sweat + Steadily available
− Low energy
The mammalian ear has a certain level of + Compact harvester 6.3 nW
harvestable potential + Steadily available
− Low energy
− Requires invasive procedure
Blood pressure variations are exploited + Compact harvester 6 μJ/cm3
+ Steadily available
− Low energy
− Blood clotting
− Requires invasive procedure
Beating heart creates motion that can be + Compact harvester 1.2 μW/cm2
harnessed + Steadily available
− Low energy
− Requires invasive procedure
Energy is produced from inhaling and exhaling + Steadily available N/A
− Low energy
− Might cause discomfort
Energy from motion related to daily human + Commercial availability 7W
activity is transformed to electric potential + Compact harvester
+ High energy
− Harvester might break
− Not steadily available
− Requires involuntary action
Light is converted into electricity + Compact harvester 100 μW/cm2
+ Commercial availability
− Not steadily available
− Not suitable for in vivo device
Energy from RF radiation is converted to + Compact harvester 40 μW/cm2
electricity + Commercial availability
− Low energy
− Not steadily available
− Not suitable for in vivo device
Seebeck effect is exploited to generate + Compact harvester 135 μW/cm2
electricity + Commercial availability
− Low energy
− Thermal matching

can be utilized for powering ultra-low-power
implantable sensors, drug delivery systems, and
other applications. The availability of harvestable
substances in the body varies with age and de-
pends largely on people’s health and daily intake
of foods and nutrients. Generally, these sources
can be harvested whenever required, given that
the body maintains an ample supply of potential
substances.
The main enabling technology for harvest-
ing chemical compounds is biofuel cells,4 which
generate power via complementary chemical

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 Pervasive Computing
Energy harvesters Energy sources
• Photovoltaic • Light
• Thermoelectric • Heat
• Piezoelectric • Motion
Energy usage
Energy storage
Sensor load
• Rechargeable battery
• Supercapacitor
Figure 1. The harvesting process for a sensor
node in wireless body area networks. Energy
from nonelectrical sources is scavenged and
converted to electric potential using appropriate
energy harvesters for specific sources.
reactions that occur between the anode and cath-
ode, and are separated by a catalyst to accelerate
the chemical reactions. The anode is responsible
for oxidizing the fuel (chemical compound), while
reduction takes place at the cathode. As long as
the body maintains an active supply of harvest-
able substances, biofuel cells can continuously
produce electrical energy, thus theoretically pro-
viding an endless source of energy.
Among various chemical substances, glucose is
one of the most common and regenerative sourc-
es of energy that the body extracts from con-
sumed substances. This source can be harnessed
using an implantable enzymatic biofuel cell (en-
zymatically catalyzed) that metabolizes glucose
into acid and releases electrons, which are then
utilized to generate electrical energy. Recently,
an enzymatic biofuel cell capable of generating
small amounts of power through glucose oxida-
tion was developed.5 This implantable fuel cell is
designed to harvest glucose from cerebrospinal
fluid in the brain. According to computational
analysis, the theoretical amount of energy that
can be harvested from the fluid without any ad-
verse physiological effects is about 180 µW/cm 2.
Lactate is another substance present in abun-
dant levels in human perspiration—that is, saliva
or sweat. Fortunately, this substance can also be
harvested via a noninvasive tattoo-based biofuel
cell design that can be externally located on a hu-
man body. The harvested power density of these
tattoos can range up to 44 µW/cm2.6
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Potential hydrogen (pH) levels determine the
basicity or acidity of liquid in the body and are
also a harvestable source of energy suitable for
producing very low-level voltages. In one study, re-
searchers scavenged these voltages equal to a sub-
ject’s pH level using active IrO2 pH sensors;7 this
energy was later amplified to high voltages using
an electrostatic energy harvester. Another viable
source of energy is the endocochlear potential
(EP), a 70–100 mV direct current electrochemical
potential actively retained by the inner ear. One
study’s authors demonstrated that by exploiting
the mammalian EP, it was possible to power an
ultra-low-power implant inside the ear;8 however,
due to anatomical constraints, the total extract-
able power ranged from a mere 1.1–6.3 nW only.
Biochemical energy harvesting has several
draw­backs. It might seem like a feasible solution
for powering implantable sensors, but the main
problem is that exploitation techniques are lim-
ited and immature. Currently, only small levels of
energy can be harvested from these sources, with
the most being from glucose; however, the enzyme
biofuel cells used for harvesting energy from glu-
cose have a very short lifetime (only a few months).
Furthermore, harvestable chemical compounds
also deteriorate with age and health, which leads to
concerns about whether harvesting these sources
can have further adverse effects on health. Replac-
ing or repairing an in vivo energy harvester is also a
problem—the module might break and affect the
user’s health negatively, thus requiring surgical
intervention, which is both risky and expensive.
Finally, actual application-specific utilization of
these sources is finite, thus limiting its realization.
If future development allows for a higher-power
density and longer lifetimes, biochemical sources
could become the primary solution for several po-
tential implantable applications.
Biomechanical energy sources. Another cat-
egory of sources related to the human body are
biomechanical in nature and exist as kinetic en-
ergy gained from various internal and external
motions. Depending on a person’s intentions,
these motions can be further classified into invol-
untary and voluntary actions. The former relates
to the continuous motions being performed by
the body regardless of a person’s intent, such as
breathing, heartbeat, blood pressure, and other
muscle movements. Voluntary actions involve

spontaneous activities related to body
movement—that is, walking, exercis-
ing, and so on.
The human heart beats at an aver-
age rate of 70 times per minute and, in
Biochemical
the process, generates kinetic energy
via its contractions. Over the past few
years, extensive research has gone into
converting this involuntary motion into
electric potential using either piezoelec-
tric or electromagnetic techniques. The
energy harnessed can be utilized to au-
tonomously power active implants, such
as state-of-the-art low-power pacemak-
ers. One example, an electromagnetic
generator based on a commercial auto-
matic watch mechanism, can scavenge Figure 2. Classification of sources available for energy harvesting.
The two main categories for harvestable sources are energy from the
vibration from cardiac motions.9
Another uninterrupted, harvestable human body and ambient energy.
source is the small-scale flow of wind
caused by breathing. The inhalation and exha-
lation of air generates a pressure difference that
can be harnessed to produce electrical energy. A
straightforward way to harvest this pressure dif-
ference would be to employ wind turbines that
mimic large-scale wind harvesting systems. This
method employed in wearable electronic masks
is known as AIRE.10 The mask exploits the me-
chanical energy from the wearer’s breath using
small wind turbines and uses harvested energy to
power external electronic devices.
A major portion of biomechanical sources is
associated with human locomotion, including
sources such as footfalls, knee motion, and arm
motion. These sources can be harvested using
various piezoelectric and mechanical generators.
A considerable amount of energy can be generat-
ed from foot strikes during walking, which can be
scavenged using piezoelectric polymers placed in
the sole of the shoe. The energy generated can be
used to power biometric sensors. During move-
ment, significant levels of vibration or displace-
ment occur at the knee, producing kinetic energy.
Such energy can also be scavenged by exploiting
a generative braking harvester at the knee, which
can generate more power than shoe inserts. The
stretching of muscles or tapping of a finger are
also sources of energy that can be harvested us-
ing a nanowire nanogenerator11 to produce low
amounts of power. MicroStrain develops sensor
nodes suitable for harvesting energy from vibra-
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Energy
sources
Human
Ambient
body
Solar
Biomechanical
RF
Glucose Involuntary Voluntary
Heat
Lactate
Heartbeat
Locomotion Vibration
Potential
hydrogen (pH) Blood
pressure
Endocochlear
potential Breathing
tion and strain using electrodynamic generators
and piezoelectric materials (www.microstrain.
com/applications/aerospace/helicopter-damage
-tracking). Although these commercial harvest-
ers are not suitable for implantable devices, they
can be beneficial for wearable devices.
Like biochemical sources, biomechanical in vivo
sources are also difficult to exploit and might cause
discomfort. The principal problem is the size of
the harvester and the surety of smooth function-
ing even when users are in poor health. Moreover,
involuntary sources can provide only low levels of
energy, mostly suitable for ultra-low-power appli-
cations with restricted functionality. On the other
hand, voluntary sources, which can provide decent
power levels, require the wearer to intentionally
perform some action, so energy is only available as
long as the specific movement is performed. An-
other problem with biomechanical sources is that
they can become damaged over time due to con-
stant movement and friction; they would also need
to be completely sealed to avoid any rusting.
Ambient Energy Harvesting
Energy constraints can be further minimized
by harvesting energy from various low-grade
ambient sources, such as RF radiation, solar,
thermal, and so on. These sources can provide a
magnitude of energy, which—if effectively har-
nessed—can power a range of implantable and
wearable applications.
 Pervasive Computing
The most mature of these ambient sources is
light, which can be scavenged in outdoor as well
as indoor environments (that is, from artificial
light). Energy from sunlight in outdoor environ-
ments depends immensely on the time of day,
the season, and environmental conditions, but
efficient harvesting of sunlight can lead to an
entire day or multiple days of operational time.
The intensity of indoor artificial light is not as
high as naturally available sunlight; hence, it can
only produce low amounts of energy. However,
because a common method is used to harvest in-
door and outdoor light—that is, photovoltaic (PV)
cells—artificial light can be thought of as an extra
advantage. A main restriction for exploiting light
energy in applications associated with the body is
that they lack flexibility, making it somewhat dif-
ficult to integrate PV panels in wearable sensor
nodes. Fortunately, technological advancements
have led to flexible and self-sustainable modules
that can be successfully incorporated in wearable
devices,12 allowing for extended lifetimes.
An adequate amount of heat is continuously
dissipated by the human body throughout the
day. This heat is a steady source of thermal en-
ergy that can be scavenged to power wearable
devices. Generally, the energy is harnessed by
exploiting the Seebeck effect—that is, when two
dissimilar semiconductors joined at two junctions
experience temperature differences (a flow of heat
in two plates), a voltage proportional to the tem-
perature gradient is generated. In someone with a
normal body temperature ranging from 36.1° C–
37.2° C, devices in direct contact with the body can
scavenge the heat using thermoelectric generators
(TEGs). These generators exploit the temperature
gradient between the body and the ambient en-
vironment to generate electric potential.13 Be-
cause TEGs are in direct contact with the body,
they can be easily integrated in wearable devices,
thus harnessing body warmth to extend a device’s
lifetime. EnOcean (www.enocean.com) produces
sensing systems capable of harvesting ambient
energy, including solar, motion, and heat. These
off-the-shelf harvesting kits can speed up the fab-
rication process, giving developers more time to
concentrate on other critical issues.
Due to emerging wireless communications
and networks, scavengeable RF radiation is
now abundantly available in the ambient envi-
ronment. Wireless broadcasters such as Wi-Fi
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routers, cell phone towers, radio towers, and
TV broadcasting towers transmit data using the
electromagnetic spectrum or, more specifically,
RF radiation. This radiation can also be har-
vested to recharge sensor nodes. The radiation
is converted to electrical energy via a power con-
version circuit employing a rectifying antenna
that transforms the radiation into a direct cur-
rent. One of the main drawbacks of this source
is that the amount of energy that can be har-
nessed depends on the distance between the
transmitter and receiver. Although there might
be a large amount of radiation available for har-
vesting near a broadcasting source, it decreases
as it spreads farther away, resulting in low lev-
els of harvestable energy. Fortunately, for wear-
able devices, this constraint might be less severe
due to the wearer’s mobility. PowerCast (www.
powercastco.com) develops compact RF energy
harvesters and transmitters that can be tuned
to a wide range of frequencies. These harvesters
are quite popular for low-volume sensor network
applications with dedicated energy transmitters.
To efficiently integrate these modules in WBAN,
field testing is paramount to take into account
ambient radiation from various sources. More-
over, a flexible, dual-band antenna can also be
integrated in clothes to easily harvest RF energy
for wearable devices in WBAN.14–16
Ambient energy harvesting has several draw-
backs. Unlike previous energy sources, environ-
mental sources cannot be harvested whenever
required, and, in some scenarios, they might not
be available for harvesting at all—for instance, in
a “no reception” area for RF energy or when light
is unavailable at night. The size of the harvester
is also a critical problem—for light, the amount
of energy harvested depends directly on the sur-
face area of the PV cells. The larger the area, the
more energy is harvested, but increasing this
area might not be possible due to the size restric-
tions of sensor nodes. Moreover, to obtain maxi-
mum energy from PV cells, they must be directly
exposed to sunlight, similar to RF energy har-
vesting, where the harvester must be close to the
energy emitting source. Finally, thermoelectric
generators have low efficiency and suffer from
thermal matching—that is, if they are placed in
a steady, heated environment, the system might
stop generating power after a while, due to both
plates reaching the same temperature.
Future Research Directions
Energy harvesting for powering WBAN nodes is
still in its infancy. To fully exploit its potential,
effective solutions must be proposed to elimi-
nate current challenges. Moreover, considerable
research must also be focused on future appli-
cations. We now highlight some future research
directions.
Decreased Size and Increased Energy
Conversion Efficiency
A paramount issue in incorporating energy-
harvesting modules in WBAN applications is
related to the size and weight of sensor nodes,
which must be kept compact to avoid any type
of discomfort or burden to the user. Most bio-
mechanical and ambient energy harvesters lose
their energy-generation capacity when reduced
in size. Thus, there is a crucial need to develop
solutions for increasing conversion efficiency
without increasing a node’s size and weight.
Proper Simulation Tools
To overcome unpredictable constraints as regards
sensor node lifetimes, robust energy models that
consider different parameters related to energy
harvesting, charging, storage, and discharging
are required.17 To develop such models, rigorous
evaluations are paramount, and such work can
be conducted only on robust simulators. Current
simulation tools can evaluate several parameters
but lack proper extensions for developing an ef-
fective energy model. Thus, there is a need to
develop simulation models that contain features
related to WBAN-specific energy harvesting.
Energy-Harvesting-Aware Robust
Protocols
To efficiently exploit energy sources, robust com-
munication protocols are also vital. Although
such protocols have been thoroughly explored for
conventional energy-harvesting sensor networks,
they cannot be adopted for WBAN because of its
unique challenges. Therefore, exclusive commu-
nication protocols must be proposed to offer an
ultimate self-sustaining solution.
Hybrid Solutions
Being dependent on a single energy source re-
stricts the functioning and reliability of a sensor
node. To fully exploit the potential of energy har-
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vesting, considerable research must be focused
on harvesting multiple sources simultaneously.
Doing so will not only provide extra power but
will also improve reliability.
Efficient Power Management
Scavenged energy requires effective power man-
agement among modules. This includes the ef-
ficient utilization of extra energy, optimal data
collection, packet routing decisions, and the
avoidance of overcharging. A node can also sus-
pend its operation and retire to sleep mode for fast
recharging when it does not have enough power.
Thus, research effort should go into coupling
wake-up scheduling schemes with harvesting
schemes. It is also important to study the cor-
responding network protocols and task schedul-
ing to evenly increase network energy and ensure
quality-of-service requirements.
Actual Use of In Vivo Sources
The actual use of in vivo energy sources to power
sensor nodes is quite low, which limits its real-
ization. The human body is complex and fragile;
implanting a physical node in the body can gen-
erate various problems, including inflammation
and blood clotting issues arising from blood ves-
sel blockage. Extensive utilization and research
can clearly highlight the main limiting factors
and enable further exploitation of in vivo sources.
I
f WBAN is to reach the heights its early vi-
sionaries predicted it would, the revolution
needs to encompass more than connectivity.
The primary reason for harnessing power from
ambient energy sources is not only to limit the
need for physically replacing the battery or con-
stant recharging but also to encourage energy-
demanding processing—in other words, enabling
the possibility of a fully autonomic and self-
sustainable device. A fundamental question con-
sidered while selecting a harvestable source is
whether it can provide optimal levels of power.
The amount of energy that can be harvested from
various WBAN suitable sources is considerably
small, and the sources that provide an adequate
amount require the wearer to perform some ac-
tion. However, due to advancements in low-power
applications, energy harvesting for WBAN ap-
plications seems like a good choice, whereas for
 Pervasive Computing
critical applications, multiple sources can be har-
vested. For continued viable functioning, current
challenges must be overcome while focusing on
future applications.
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Fayaz Akhtar is a postgraduate researcher in the Telecommu-
nications Software & Systems Group (TSSG) at the Waterford
Institute of Technology, Ireland. He worked on this article while
completing his MS from the Department of Electrical Engi-
neering at the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology,
Pakistan. His research interests include software-defined net-
working, network function virtualization, energy harvesting in
miniature devices, cognitive radio networks, and the Internet of
Things. Contact him at fayazakhtar@gmail.com.
Mubashir Husain Rehmani is an assistant professor at
the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Paki-
stan. His research interests include cognitive radio ad hoc
networks, smart grid, wireless sensor networks, and mobile
ad hoc networks. Rehmani is a founding member of the IEEE
Special Interest Group (SIG) on Green and Sustainable Net-
working and Computing with Cognition and Cooperation,
editor for IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutori-
als, and an associate editor for IEEE Communications
Magazine, IEEE Access, Computers & Electrical
Engineering, the Journal of Network and Computer
Applications, Ad Hoc Sensor Wireless Networks,
Wireless Networks, and the Journal of Communi-
cations and Networks. He received a PhD in cognitive
radio ad hoc networks from the University Pierre and Marie
Curie, France. Contact him at mshrehmani@gmail.com.
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