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Energy harvesting has become an interest area to research, due to the wide range of applications were could be employed. AC energy harvesting schemes present an important disadvantage with respect to DC harvesting schemes, they need to synchronize the operation of the power converter with the electric generator voltage waveform. In order to get this synchronization there are different schemes reported, each one has its advantages and disadvantages and in function of the application they are representative or not. In this paper a review of the different AC energy harvesting schemes with different techniques used to synchronize the power converter and the electric generator are shown, at the end of the review a simple scheme with reduced number of components and minimum computational cost is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Pedal energy a clean and sustainable alternative. • Energy harvesters allows the self-sourcing of an exercise bicycle. • The main elements of a pedaling energy harvester are identified. • Transmission and transformation of pedal energy to electrical energy are revised. • A sequence to design a pedaling energy harvester is proposed. Pedaling energy is a clean and sustainable energy source capable of supplying power to a variety of low power electronic devices. Furthermore, pedaling energy has proven to be a sustainable energy solution, in combination with other renewable energy sources for developing communities. However, currently, the use of this energy is still limited. The main contribution of this paper is to present a review of static pedaling technologies that use rotary transducers to convert pedaling energy into electrical energy, to identify current advances and design trends, comparing and classifying the elements that integrate the main stages of energy transmission and transformation, identifying areas of opportunity to improve their functionality, efficiency or other aspects of interest. The review includes information about the human capacity to deliver power in a pedaling mechanism such as the cadence-power ratio, cadence-torque, maximum power, and critical power. As a result of the review are reported geometric structure, transducer type, power converter, transmission ratio, power output, among other of the reviewed systems data. Moreover, a design sequence, which is considered appropriate, is proposed to optimize the pedaling energy harvesters of static mechanisms. Finally, the review results, trends, and challenges are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]