Technology
How does it work? - 'Transduction'!
Our technology works with the principle of converting one sort of energy to another. This is done using devices called 'transducers', in our case based on the piezoelectric or electromagnetic effect. A typical example of a transducer would be a speaker, that works exactly opposed to what we achieve; a speaker convert electric energy into sound waves.
"A transducer is a device that converts energy from one form to another. Usually a transducer converts a signal in one form of energy to a signal in another. Transducers are often employed at the boundaries of automation, measurement, and control systems, where electrical signals are converted to and from other physical quantities (energy, force, torque, light, motion, position, etc.). The process of converting one form of energy to another is known as transduction." - Wikipedia
Basically our technology consists of a (large) group of transducers that convert vibrations caused by sound waves into energy. Exactly the opposite to what a speaker does. For both the speaker application and our technology this is called the piezoelectric effect (link to Wikipedia). These transducers are placed in groups according to the required power. Using rectifiers the alternating current coming from the transducers is converted into direct current. With preset configurations we can scale the voltage or current to usable levels at the average noise level (decibel) on the specific location.
The current transducers we're using are a basic, wide range, piezoelectric or electromagnetic transducers with some typical electronic specifications to be suitable for this job. To gain a (much) better effectiveness, we need custom transducers that catch the widest possible range of sound waves caused by the source where the WaveHarvesters would be located.
More information
You can click here for more in depth information, or you can send a request to access more documentation using our contact form. If you’re an engineer and willing to help us on our journey to make sound pollution a usable thing, please don’t hesitate to contact us as well!
Harvester PoC capturing over 300mV
Over 300mV capturing directly on the rectifier of PoC board