The expected boom in demand for small, often isolated devices in the Internet of Things is driving developers to craft new types of components. Two developments announced this week should help IoT come together. On Wednesday at a trade show in Tokyo, researchers showed off a prototype of a tiny power supply that harvests energy from vibrations in the air so remote sensors and other parts don't need batteries. And on Thursday, U.K. chip company Imagination Technologies announced a design for radio chips that can be used in small, power-sipping devices.