Energy Harvesting Techniques for Self-Powered Body-Worn Sensors in Wireless Body Area Networks

Self-powered body-worn sensors are considered one of the potential candidates for health and fitness monitoring in wireless body area networks. Sensors extract energy from the human body or its environment to power themselves, making them self-contained with no external power supply, thus improving portability and wear ability. According to this, energy harvesting methods are essential for developing selfpowered body-worn sensors in WBANs. This technical paper reviews different methods of energy harvesting used for bodyworn sensors, such as Body heat, motion, ambient light harvesting, etc. It also discusses some drawbacks and limitations, such as low energy production and inconsistent energy sources. It also features some of the latest blasting techniques and technologies concerning energy recovery. Using self-powered body-worn sensors can lead to various applications and advantages in WBANs. Such uses included continuous & non-invasive health monitoring, data collection for medical research and sports performance tracking. Self-powered sensors reduce the frequency of maintenance and minimize environmental pollution caused by battery disposal.