Development of A Wearable Self-Powered Sensor Using Triboelectric Mechanism

The rapid development of Internet of Things (IoT) has led to a high demand for wearable human-machine interaction (HMI) devices. Sensors play a crucial role in HMI applications by detecting physical parameters and converting them into electrical signals. Conventional sensors, which are rigid and highly reliant on bulky power sources, pose challenges when applied to soft and irregular surfaces, such as human skin. Therefore, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) with stretchable materials are introduced in this paper. The proposed self-powered sensor can produce a voltage of up to 7 V upon hand tapping force. It is also able to detect different tapping frequencies from 1 Hz to 3 Hz. These characteristics are useful for wearable HMI applications such as turning on and off light-emitting diodes (LEDs).