Multilayered Triboelectric Energy Harvester as a Smart Floor Mat

ABSTRACT

This paper develops a multilayered triboelectric energy harvester and demonstrates its application as a smart floor mat. Triboelectrification is the process in which contact and separation between two triboelectric electrode surfaces result in the generation of opposite charges on them. Due to the tendency of conductive materials to attain charge equilibrium, the electrons flow from the ground to the conductor or vice versa to make it neutral. As a result, an alternating current (AC) flows in the external circuit as the materials contact and separate. In this work, we fabricated an array of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) by connecting eight zigzag-shaped multilayered TENGs (each containing three units) in series to realize a smart floor mat. The TENG array was sandwiched between two wooden slabs and was placed in front of the library entrance to control the occupancy by tracking the number of people entering/leaving. This smart floor mat generated a maximum output power of 119.7 μW, which lit up to 40 light-emitting diodes (2mA current with 10μF capacitance) when the mat was compressed and released periodically. The device will have potential applications in tracking the number of people entering/leaving a facility. In this Covid-19 era, the control of occupancy rate becomes more crucial in an indoor setting such as in libraries, shopping malls, etc. This study provides a simple, straightforward, and low-cost solution to achieving the control measure. In addition, the traditional occupancy tracking systems based on cameras, processors, and sensors are expensive compared to our low-cost and energy-efficient smart floor mat. Hence, our design has the potential to provide a promising alternative to the existing solutions. © 2022 IEEE.