A universal self-charging system driven by random biomechanical energy for sustainable operation of mobile electronics

Simiao Niu, Xiaofeng Wang, Fang Yi, Yu Sheng Zhou and Zhong Lin Wang ()
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Simiao Niu: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Xiaofeng Wang: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Fang Yi: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Yu Sheng Zhou: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Zhong Lin Wang: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Human biomechanical energy is characterized by fluctuating amplitudes and variable low frequency, and an effective utilization of such energy cannot be achieved by classical energy-harvesting technologies. Here we report a high-efficient self-charging power system for sustainable operation of mobile electronics exploiting exclusively human biomechanical energy, which consists of a high-output triboelectric nanogenerator, a power management circuit to convert the random a.c. energy to d.c. electricity at 60% efficiency, and an energy storage device. With palm tapping as the only energy source, this power unit provides a continuous d.c. electricity of 1.044 mW (7.34 W m−3) in a regulated and managed manner. This self-charging unit can be universally applied as a standard ‘infinite-lifetime’ power source for continuously driving numerous conventional electronics, such as thermometers, electrocardiograph system, pedometers, wearable watches, scientific calculators and wireless radio-frequency communication system, which indicates the immediate and broad applications in personal sensor systems and internet of things.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9975

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