Energy Harvesting for Precision Agriculture Applications

2026-07-22

ENTRAP is multidisciplinary research project aimed at developing an Energy Harvesting (EH) device which will convert the locomotion of domestic animals, i.e. animal kinetic energy, into electrical power. This device would then supply autonomous power to a wide range of wireless sensing Precision Agriculture applications. Precision Livestock Farming is used to monitor individual animals' health, behavior, location and more so as to increase the efficiency and sustainability of food production. Millions of battery powered smart collar devices used in Precision Livestock Farming are being marketed today in the EU and through ENTRAP these devices will become powered by the animals themselves. In fact, the locomotion of domestic animals hasn't been characterized as a power source at all and to develop an EH device designed specifically for free grazing animals, extensive field experiments are necessary. Experiments are designed in cooperation with the Faculties of Agriculture in Zagreb and Helsinki, and will be performed at their respective experimental farms. The host beneficiary, Tampere University of Technology, is providing supervision in electromagnetic EH device design through mentorship by asst. prof. Paavo Rasilo, an expert in modeling of electromechanical systems. To enhance the projects prospects of success and to gain knowledge necessary for the development of my future career I will be seconded to an industry leader in the EH field, ReVibe Energy(SWE). The device will be integrated at Nofence(NOR), the world's first producer of a cloud based Virtual Fencing system (a Precision Livestock Farming application). The motivation for the restart of my career arose from an academic break and subsequent 6 months spent as a goat herder which allowed for this novel research idea to develop based on my previous research in the EH field. Through the implementation of this project I will have restarted my career with a fresh incentive and thus far unperformed research.

Finland

2026-02-01