“Whatever Input to Torsion Transfer”: Harvesting energy from a WITT gearbox device

The WITT gearbox is a device that harvests energy from its environment by responding to sufficiently high frequency and amplitude harmonic acceleration in any plane of motion. It is a simple apparatus, consisting of pendula, gears, bearings, clutches, and power conversion electronics, that can be immersed in a sealed way into a harsh, turbulent environment. It then generates uninterrupted power by turning vibration to rotation, always in the same direction, regardless of the direction of the external vibration. In this work, we expand the analysis of the mechanical properties of the WITT device, making more realistic assumptions compared to previous studies. Moreover, we in vestigate the response of the device to various external configurations and parameter values (e.g. attaching the device to pair of pendula, or to a pole, etc.), exploring how this could enable it to respond to lower-frequency excitation.