A research team at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has developed a chip that can be placed on any sensing point – such as electrical cables, conductors, junctions – to detect electrical currents. This revolutionary chip does not use power supplies and signal conditioners that are traditionally used with current sensors.
Without the use of power supplies and electronic active components, these smart sensors can be used safely and reliably for early fault detection in places that have not been accessible previously. The sensors have been designed to harvest electromagnetic radiation emitted by the equipment they’re monitoring and turned into useful energy. The energy can then be used to power microcontrollers, displays, wireless transmitters and more.