Batteryless Wireless Anemometer with BLE Connectivity

We have developed a self-powered wireless anemometer in which a cm-scale horizontal axis microturbine acts as both power source and wind speed transducer. Wind speed is measured by temporarily removing any electrical load from the turbine and then recording its rotation rate and acceleration. With these data, and a model of the turbine dynamics, an estimate of wind speed is obtained. Wind speed and temperature data are sent to a data collection node via a Bluetooth Low Energy link. The overall envelope of the sensor is cylindrical with diameter 3.2 cm and length 5.5 cm, making it considerably smaller than other devices with similar functionality.