Energy harvesting
The department investigates methods of recovering energy from the environment, especially from vibrations generated by wind, machinery and structural motion.
Department / Research
The Department of Automation conducts research in energy harvesting, nonlinear dynamics, intelligent sensing systems and advanced mechatronic solutions. Its work combines theoretical modelling, simulation, experiments and international scientific collaboration to develop technologies for autonomous systems, sustainable energy solutions and modern control applications.
Research focus
Research at the Department of Automation focuses on advanced dynamic systems, environmental energy harvesting and intelligent sensing technologies used in modern engineering. The department develops solutions that improve the efficiency, autonomy and sustainability of technical systems operating in industrial, transport and mechatronic environments.
The department investigates methods of recovering energy from the environment, especially from vibrations generated by wind, machinery and structural motion.
Research includes modelling and analysis of nonlinear dynamical systems used in modern mechatronic and energy conversion applications.
The developed technologies support self-powered sensors and intelligent monitoring systems for industrial and mobile applications.
The research combines theoretical work, experimental studies and implementation-oriented engineering development.
Key research area
One of the department’s most important research directions is the recovery of energy from environmental sources, especially mechanical vibrations. These studies focus on converting otherwise wasted motion into useful electrical energy that can power autonomous sensors, monitoring systems and low-power electronic devices.
Research explores the use of vibrations caused by airflow and vortex shedding as a source of recoverable energy in engineering structures and devices.
The department develops and studies piezoelectric systems capable of converting dynamic mechanical excitation into electrical power.
The team investigates nonlinear mechanisms that allow efficient energy harvesting over a wide range of frequencies and operating conditions.
International project
A major research activity of the department has been the international NCN SHENG 2 project focused on the development and optimisation of advanced mechanisms for energy harvesting from wind-induced vibrations.
High-performance coupled wind-induced vibration energy harvesting mechanism and optimization
Keywords: vortex-induced vibrations, nonlinear dynamics, energy harvesting, piezoelectricity
Project leader: Prof. Grzegorz Litak
Project number: UMO-2021/40/Q/ST8/00362
Duration: 18.01.2022 – 17.01.2025
Funding: 1,947,364 PLN
The project has been carried out in cooperation with:
Scientific cooperation
The department actively develops international scientific cooperation through research visits, workshops, keynote lectures and joint publications with partner institutions in Europe and Asia.
Scientific meetings and workshops have involved partners from Brno, Southampton, Exeter, Bristol, Bath, Dublin, Katowice and Kraków, strengthening collaboration in nonlinear dynamics and energy harvesting.
The department has also developed cooperation with leading academic centres in Xi’an and Kathmandu through lectures, scientific meetings and presentations of research opportunities.
Research results have been presented during major international events, including Mechatronika, CMES, VETOMAC and Euromech meetings.
Research output
Research conducted within the SHENG 2 project has led to a series of scientific publications in internationally recognised journals and conference proceedings in the fields of sensors, energy conversion and nonlinear dynamical systems.
Publications have addressed energy harvesting in flexible cantilever systems, nonlinear resonators and systems with asymmetric potential wells.
The research has examined subharmonic responses, impulse excitation diagrams and the influence of potential barriers on harvesting effectiveness.
Published studies have contributed to better understanding of hybrid energy harvesters, tunnel-effect systems and nonlinear multi-well energy harvesting mechanisms.
Complementary project
Another important initiative carried out by the department was the MEiN Dialog project focused on the applications and development of methods for recovering energy from the environment, especially from vibrations occurring in machinery and industrial systems.
The project supported the development of scientific cooperation, knowledge exchange and dissemination of energy harvesting technologies.
Project number: DIALOG0019/2019
Duration: 29.07.2019 – 28.07.2022
Funding: 979,000 PLN
The project promoted international cooperation and the visibility of Polish research achievements, while also creating opportunities for implementation and commercialization of scientific results.
Sensor systems
Another research area of the department concerns microelectromechanical sensors and their use in robotics and autonomous systems, with particular attention to improving inertial navigation performance.
Research has focused on the variability of the constant component of MEMS gyroscopes and its impact on orientation measurement and inertial navigation accuracy.
A dedicated filtering algorithm was developed to identify whether a robotic arm or autonomous vehicle is moving, allowing longer calibration intervals while maintaining low navigation error.
The method enables direct implementation in microcontrollers and supports the creation of intelligent sensors for control systems used on mobile platforms.
Research impact
Through research in energy harvesting, nonlinear dynamics, MEMS sensing and intelligent systems, the Department of Automation contributes to the development of autonomous monitoring technologies, efficient sensor networks and modern mechatronic solutions with strong scientific and implementation potential.
Project co-financed by the European Union under the European Social Fund, Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development 2014–2020 "PL2022 – Integrated Development Programme of Lublin University of Technology" POWR.03.05.00-00-Z036/17