Energy Harvesting is a technology that can convert wasted energy such as vibration, heat, light, electromagnetic energy, etc. into usable electrical energy. Among them, vibration-based piezoelectric energy harvesting (PEH) has high energy conversion efficiency with a small volume; thus, it is expected to be used in various autonomous powering devices, such as implantable medical devices, wearable devices, and energy harvesting from road or automobiles. In this study, wasted vibration energy in an automobile is converted into electrical energy by high-power piezoelectric materials, and the generated electrical energy is found to be an auxiliary power source for the operation of wireless sensor nodes, LEDs, etc. inside an automobile. In order to properly install the PEH in an automobile, vibration characteristics includes frequency and amplitude at several positions in the automobile is monitored initially and the cantilever structured PEH was designed accordingly. The harvesting properties of fabricated PEH is characterized and installed into the engine part of the automobile, where the vibration amplitude is stable and strong. The feasibility of PEH is confirmed by operating electric components (LEDs) that can be used in practice.
