Omni-directional detectable textile brush-based triboelectric nanogenerators

The current demand for sensors that detect falling events in aged people, infants, and toddlers is increasing. Conventional sensors used for falling detection are mainly classified as acceleration sensors. However, these sensors are susceptible to false recognition because of the possibility of triggering upon sliding movement. Therefore, a novel fall-detecting sensor using triboelectric nanogenerator (TENGs) is proposed. This sensor can effectively detect falling as it measures the impact pressure upon falling. In particular, a novel falling sensor based on brush TENGs (B-TENGs), using nylon and fluorinated ethylene propylene fiber brushes as the friction materials, was investigated. The fabricated B-TENGs harvested an open circuit voltage of approximately 8 V under 98 N of contact force in the vertical direction. In addition, the maximum open circuit voltage harvested under the contact force in the horizontal direction was 20.88 V, which was 11.6 times larger than that obtained in two-dimensional film-based TENGs (1.80 V). Therefore, B-TENGs can harvest a large power output due to the three-dimensional structure of the brush textile. As a result, B-TENGs have potential applications as sensors for detecting falls within 360 angle range.

Automated summary

The demand for sensors that detect falling events in aged people, infants, and toddlers is increasing. Conventional acceleration sensors are susceptible to false recognition, so a novel fall-detecting sensor using triboelectric nanogenerator (TENGs) is proposed, which effectively detects falls by measuring the impact pressure.