Energy harvesting is a still-new concept-embodied by a range of technologies-that lets design engineers create versatile, autonomous systems and products that operate free from power maintenance. A well-known example is Seiko's Kinetic line of watches, which are powered by the movement of the wearer's body. Less well known, but increasing in number, are installations such as the one devised by Leviton Manufacturing, a supplier of lighting energy management systems. Leviton's engineering team has paired miniature solar cells with low-power consumption devices and designs to produce an effective, self-powered wireless occupancy sensor and lighting control system able to "keep the lights on when there is occupancy and allow the lights to go off after 2 to 30 minutes with no occupancy," according to Dan Wright, lead electrical engineer, and Paul Maddox, director of engineering.
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