Self-powered eye motion sensor based on triboelectric interaction and near-field electrostatic induction for wearable assistive technologies

Abstract This paper presents a reverse electrowetting-on-dielectric (REWOD) energy harvester integrated with rectifier, boost converter, and charge amplifier that is, without bias voltage, capable of powering wearable sensors for monitoring human health in real-time. REWOD has been demonstrated to effectively generate electrical current at a low frequency range (< 3 Hz), which is the frequency range for various human activities such as walking, running, etc. However, the current generated from the REWOD without external bias source is insufficient to power such motion sensors. In this work, to eventually implement a fully self-powered motion sensor, we demonstrate a novel bias-free REWOD AC generation and then rectify, boost, and amplify the signal using commercial components. The unconditioned REWOD output of 95–240 mV AC is generated using a 50 μL droplet of 0.5M NaCl electrolyte and 2.5 mm of electrode displacement from an oscillation frequency range of 1–3 Hz. A seven-stage rectifier using Schottky diodes having a forward voltage drop of 135–240 mV and a forward current of 1 mA converts the generated AC signal to DC voltage. ∼3 V DC is measured at the boost converter output, proving the system could function as a self-powered motion sensor. Additionally, a linear relationship of output DC voltage with respect to frequency and displacement demonstrates the potential of this REWOD energy harvester to function as a self-powered wearable motion sensor.

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Self-Power Dynamic Sensor Based on Triboelectrification for Tilt of Direction and Angle

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s18072384 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (7) ◽

pp. 2384 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Hyeonhee Roh ◽

Inkyum Kim ◽

Jinsoo Yu ◽

Daewon Kim

Keyword(s):

Electrical Power ◽

Stable Operation ◽

Huge Number ◽

Channel System ◽

Active Sensor ◽

Electrostatic Induction ◽

Wide Range ◽

Self Powered ◽

The Internet Of Things ◽

Great Development

With the great development of the Internet of Things (IoT), the use of sensors have increased rapidly because of the importance in the connection between machines and people. A huge number of IoT sensors consume vast amounts of electrical power for stable operation and they are also used for a wide range of applications. Therefore, sensors need to operate independently, sustainably, and wirelessly to improve their capabilities. In this paper, we propose an orientation and the tilt triboelectric sensor (OT-TES) as a self-powered active sensor, which can simultaneously sense the tilting direction and angle by using the two classical principles of triboelectrification and electrostatic induction. The OT-TES device consists of a rectangular acrylic box containing polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) balls moved by gravity. The output voltage and current were 2 V and 20 nA, respectively, with a PTFE ball and Al electrode. The multi-channel system was adopted for measuring the degree and direction of tilt by integrating the results of measured electrical signals from the eight electrodes. This OT-TES can be attached on the equipment for drones or divers to measure their stability. As a result, this proposed device is expected to expand the field of TES, as a sensor for sky and the underwater.

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A new insight into ZIF-67 based triboelectric nanogenerator for self-powered robot object recognition

Journal of Materials Chemistry C ◽

10.1039/d1tc04729a ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sugato Hajra ◽

Manisha Sahu ◽

Aneeta Manjari Padhan ◽

Jaykishon Swain ◽

Basanta Kumar Panigrahi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Object Recognition ◽

Mechanical Energy ◽

Power Source ◽

Triboelectric Nanogenerator ◽

Electrostatic Induction ◽

Self Powered ◽

Insight Into

Harvesting mechanical energy from surroundings can be a promising power source for micro/nano-devices. The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) works in the principle of triboelectrification and electrostatic induction. So far, the metals...

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Biofuel-powered soft electronic skin with multiplexed and wireless sensing for human-machine interfaces

Science Robotics ◽

10.1126/scirobotics.aaz7946 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (41) ◽

pp. eaaz7946 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

You Yu ◽

Joanna Nassar ◽

Changhao Xu ◽

Jihong Min ◽

Yiran Yang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Body ◽

Power Efficiency ◽

Near Field ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Biofuel Cells ◽

Physical Parameters ◽

Power Intensity ◽

Electronic Skin ◽

Self Powered ◽

Body Self

Existing electronic skin (e-skin) sensing platforms are equipped to monitor physical parameters using power from batteries or near-field communication. For e-skins to be applied in the next generation of robotics and medical devices, they must operate wirelessly and be self-powered. However, despite recent efforts to harvest energy from the human body, self-powered e-skin with the ability to perform biosensing with Bluetooth communication are limited because of the lack of a continuous energy source and limited power efficiency. Here, we report a flexible and fully perspiration-powered integrated electronic skin (PPES) for multiplexed metabolic sensing in situ. The battery-free e-skin contains multimodal sensors and highly efficient lactate biofuel cells that use a unique integration of zero- to three-dimensional nanomaterials to achieve high power intensity and long-term stability. The PPES delivered a record-breaking power density of 3.5 milliwatt·centimeter−2 for biofuel cells in untreated human body fluids (human sweat) and displayed a very stable performance during a 60-hour continuous operation. It selectively monitored key metabolic analytes (e.g., urea, NH4+, glucose, and pH) and the skin temperature during prolonged physical activities and wirelessly transmitted the data to the user interface using Bluetooth. The PPES was also able to monitor muscle contraction and work as a human-machine interface for human-prosthesis walking.

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Flexible piezoelectric strain energy harvester responsive to multi-directional input forces and its application to self-powered motion sensor

2017 IEEE 30th International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) ◽

10.1109/memsys.2017.7863333 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Min-Ook Kim ◽

Yongkeun Oh ◽

Yunsung Kang ◽

Kyung-Ho Cho ◽

Jungwook Choi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Strain Energy ◽

Energy Harvester ◽

Motion Sensor ◽

Piezoelectric Strain ◽

Self Powered

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A constant current triboelectric nanogenerator arising from electrostatic breakdown

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.aav6437 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. eaav6437 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Di Liu ◽

Xing Yin ◽

Hengyu Guo ◽

Linglin Zhou ◽

Xinyuan Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Energy ◽

Constant Current ◽

Triboelectric Nanogenerator ◽

The Novel ◽

Electrostatic Induction ◽

Self Powered ◽

Output Characteristics ◽

Paradigm Shifting ◽

The Internet Of Things

In situ conversion of mechanical energy into electricity is a feasible solution to satisfy the increasing power demand of the Internet of Things (IoTs). A triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is considered as a potential solution via building self-powered systems. Based on the triboelectrification effect and electrostatic induction, a conventional TENG with pulsed AC output characteristics always needs rectification and energy storage units to obtain a constant DC output to drive electronic devices. Here, we report a next-generation TENG, which realizes constant current (crest factor, ~1) output by coupling the triboelectrification effect and electrostatic breakdown. Meanwhile, a triboelectric charge density of 430 mC m−2 is attained, which is much higher than that of a conventional TENG limited by electrostatic breakdown. The novel DC-TENG is demonstrated to power electronics directly. Our findings not only promote the miniaturization of self-powered systems used in IoTs but also provide a paradigm-shifting technique to harvest mechanical energy.

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