Energy harvesters convert ambient energy into electrical energy to operate energy-autonomous wireless sensor nodes, for example, and to minimise the necessary maintenance and installation costs. Energy harvesters thus have a high potential to become a key technology for the decentralised distribution of sensor applications. In the research project "ECo-Harvester", a computer-aided design methodology for the co-design of mechanics and electronics for electrodynamic vibration harvesters is to be developed to be able to derive the optimal harvesting system depending on given requirements. This extends the state of the art, as currently the components are often developed separately from each other.

By considering the interaction of interface circuit and harvester design equally by both partners, synergy effects can be used. By means of appropriate modelling, an optimal overall concept can be generated from the topologies for the harvester and the interface circuit, including parameter determination, for given framework conditions, such as signal shape, frequency and amplitude of the excitation, size of the harvester, etc. This will not only enable a cost-effective design of the harvester and the interface circuit, but will also make it possible to develop the harvester itself.

IMMS will focus on mechanical modelling including magnetic fields and mechanical damping of the energy harvesters used to extract energy from vibrations. Hahn-Schickard will focus on front-end circuits with high efficiency or low losses to provide the energy from the harvester mechanics in a suitable form for sensor systems. The challenge for an overall system is the multitude of topological basic structures and voltage ranges.