Self powered sensing mechanism based on Triboelectric Nanogenerators

Serpentine can generate power and electrical signals while it is under any deformations like gestural input. The structural design and choice of materials in our proposed novel self-powered stretchable squeezable force sensor put bases on Triboelectric Nanogenerators (TENG) phenomenon.  

Triboelectric Nanogenerators (TENG):

As one of the simplest rules in nature, we know every material around us has its own specific electronegativity. When two materials come in contact together, by transferring charge between them, Triboelectrification occurs. By choosing materials with the most negative and positive triboelectric polarities while they are in constant contact, we can increase electrostatic induction and maximizing the amount of transferred charge between materials. Such transferred charge is observed as current. Thus, charge redistribution between materials generates electrical power. By using such phenomenon, we demonstrate the harvested electrical signal by Serpentine is indicative of the way Serpentine has been manipulated by gestural input like stretch, pinch, twist, etc.