To have safe operations, aircraft fuselages are frequently inspected for faults. But, some of the glitches can be missed by human eyes. Therefore, to be extra cautious and to avoid accidents, researchers from EADS Germany in cooperation with the Vienna Institute of Technology have developed self-powered sensors to monitor aircraft integrity. These sensors would help in providing constant information on the condition of different parts of the aircraft.
According to the proposed design, a thermoelectric energy harvester would be fitted into each unit and the wireless sensors would run on the electricity produced by the same. The logic behind this is very simple. There is a small water tank placed at the core of the harvester which will maintain the high temperature as it contains warm water due to the hot air at the ground level, even after the plane reaches the colder higher altitudes. This difference in the temperature at higher altitudes will produce about 8-10mWh of electricity during a single flight, which will be enough to power the sensors.
Via: Gizmag
