TECHNOLOGY
Energy Harvesting Self-powered Technology
We solve the sensor power problem with the very force the sensor receives.
The sensor power supply problem
Sensors are an essential condition for the safety, automation and unmanned operation pursued by IoT, Smart Factory and Smart City in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Sensors are the core of a hyper-connected environment, detecting and sharing the position, movement and status of objects. However, the two ways of powering sensors — wiring and batteries — come with burdens: wiring work (installation) and periodic battery replacement (maintenance).
Innovation to solve the problem
MPIA Co., Ltd. has developed a range of products with self-powered technology using energy harvesting. Self-powered wireless technology requires no wiring work or batteries, making installation and maintenance easy and allowing application in many fields, and its reliability is confirmed through dust- and waterproof tests and 100,000-cycle operation tests. We also build real-time monitoring systems that detect and respond to these signals, creating an IoT environment.
PRINCIPLE
Operating principle — kinetic energy → electrical energy
Force applied from outside (kinetic energy) is converted into electrical energy. When a magnet moves rapidly up and down past a coil, the magnetic flux through the coil changes and an electromotive force is generated — Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction. In the Fixed-temperature Fire Detection Sensor, the SMA that expands with temperature converts thermal energy into kinetic energy to drive the same generator module.
- STEP 1
Force · heat
Press · rotation · opening/closing · temperature rise
- STEP 2
Electromagnetic induction
A magnet moves past a coil
- STEP 3
Power generation
10 N → up to 14 W
- STEP 4
RF transmission
Sent 3 times at 10 mW
CORE FIGURES
Key technical figures
COMPARISON
How it differs from conventional sensors
| Item | Battery · wired sensors | MPIA self-powered sensors |
|---|---|---|
| Installation | Wiring · wall work, only where power is available | Just attach it — no changes to existing facilities or equipment |
| Maintenance | Periodic battery replacement, cable management | No battery replacement |
| Reliability | Risk of failure when batteries run down or cables break | Generates its own power every time it operates |
| Service life | Depends on battery life | 100,000-cycle operation test |
| Environment | Spent batteries generated | Battery-free, eco-friendly |
| Installation location | Difficult in tight spaces · outdoors | Inside switchboards · cable ducts · outdoors (IP57) |
R&D PHILOSOPHY
R&D philosophy
Original products
We create products that did not exist before.
Innovative products
We change the assumption of wiring and batteries.
AI-powered Safety Solutions
We provide AI-powered, future-oriented safety, automation and unmanned-operation solutions.
Highly reliable products
We ship only products proven by testing.
Company video
CONTACT MPIA
Tell us about your site and conditions, and we will propose the right sensors and system configuration.
Let us know the installation location, quantity and systems to integrate with (PC · text messages · SCADA), and a technical specialist will reply directly.