We have investigated the integration of a triboelectric energy harvester in a tire to provide electrical energy for smart tires. The harvester is made of cost-effective, off-the-shelf materials and is comprehensively characterized in lab environment. Further assessments are conducted within tire test machines, evaluating the harvester’s performance under varying driving conditions. The results points out the potential of this technology in harnessing energy from the tire motion. This energy can be used to power sensor networks, marking a significant step toward sustainable and battery free intelligent tires. 

Self-powering is becoming an important issue for autonomous sensor systems. By having an on-the-go power source the life span increases in comparison to a limited battery source. In this paper, simulation of an innovative design for a piezoelectric energy harvester for Tire Pressure Measurement System (TPMS) is presented. The MEMS-based thin-film PZT harvester structure is in the form of a bridge with a big central seismic mass and multiple electrodes. This design takes the advantage of the S-profile bending and a short beam length to concentrate the piezoelectric effect in a small segment along the beam and maximize the power output for a given displacement. From simulation in Comsol Multiphysics, the 9mm × 5mm bridge, seismic mass of 8.7mg and resonance frequency of 615Hz, generates 1 μW by mechanical pulses excitation equivalent to driving at 60 km/h (roughly 180G).