Power electronic circuitry for energy harvesting backpack

This paper presents a power electronic circuit used to extract usable electrical power from a backpack-based energy harvesting system. The rectified output of a generator is connected to a SEPIC converter which emulates a resistive load, resulting in efficient energy conversion. The harvested energy is stored in ultracapacitors, where it is then used to charge electrochemical batteries and/or power an electronic load. A switchable resistive load is engaged to dissipate any excess electrical power that cannot be used or stored. As shown in experimental results presented in this paper, 16 W of usable electric power is harvested under conditions representative of human walking.