Ambient IoT refers to a new class of connected devices capable of harvesting energy from various sources in their surrounding environment. Innovations in power generation and Power Management Integrated Circuits have been pivotal in this development. Companies like Wiliot, Exeger, Energous, Epishine, Powercast, EnOcean, and Ossia are leading the way in power generator designs, while e-peas and Nexperia are at the forefront of PMIC development.
Jonathan Budd, Industry Analyst at ABI Research, explains, “Innovation has been led by the designers of power generators, focusing on optimizing techniques to convert ambient energy into usable energy. PMIC designers are developing chips that can store harvested energy on the device in the most efficient way possible.”
The specialized ecosystems for solar cells, piezoelectric harvesters, thermoelectric generators, and Radio Frequency harvesters are enabling energy conversion from low light sources, low temperature gradients, and power-at-a-distance via radio signals. By 2030, photovoltaic harvesting is expected to be the most common method, powering 57% of Ambient IoT devices, followed by RF harvesting at 36%, piezoelectric at 4%, and thermoelectric at 3%.
Since 2014, a niche ecosystem of startup PMIC vendors has focused exclusively on energy harvesting for Ambient IoT. The trend is towards enabling energy-agnostic power management, where PMICs can manage energy captured from any harvested input, whether PV, RF, piezoelectric, or thermoelectric.
“For customers managing large networks of battery-powered IoT devices, where batteries need to be frequently replaced, the potential for long-term autonomous operation is enticing. It is up to generator and PMIC suppliers, connectivity standards bodies, and the newly formed Ambient IoT Alliance to demonstrate the total cost of ownership savings that can be achieved through investment in harvesting equipment,” Budd concludes.
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