Membrane-Based Self-Powered Triboelectric Sensors for Pressure Change Detection and Its Uses in Security Surveillance and Healthcare Monitoring

A new membrane-based triboelectric sensor (M-TES) is presented as a self-powered pressure change sensor. It generates a voltage induced by surface triboelectric charges in response to an air pressure change. Extremely high detection resolutions of 0.34 Pa and 0.16 Pa are achieved when the air pressure increases and decreases in a small region away from the ambient standard atmosphere pressure, respectively, indicating an excellent sensitivity. By integrating the M-TES with a signal processing unit, we demonstrate practical applications of the device in sensing footsteps, respirations, and heartbeat, which suggests widespread use of the M-TES in fields of security surveillance, chemical engineering, geography research, environment monitoring, and personal healthcare.