SATURN: Technical and Design Challenges of Building a Self-sustaining Sound and Vibration Sensing Material

SATURN is a thin and flexible multi-layer material that can sense sound and other mechanical vibrations in the environment without any external power source. It is constructed of inexpensive materials (paper, copper, and plastic), so that it can be attached to a variety of objects and surfaces. When flat, SATURN's frequency response below 5000Hz is comparable to a powered microphone. When bent, SATURN has a comparable frequency response up to 3000Hz. As a sound power harvester, SATURN can harvest 7 microWatts, which allows the detection of loud sound events. We explore the space of potential applications for SATURN as part of self-sustaining interactive systems.