Self‐Powered Gyroscope Ball Using a Triboelectric Mechanism

Healthcare monitoring systems can provide important health state information by monitoring the biomechanical parameter or motion of body segments. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) as self‐powered motion sensors have been developed rapidly to convert external mechanical change into electrical signal. However, research effort on using TENGs for multiaxis acceleration sensing is very limited. Moreover, TENG has not been demonstrated for rotation sensing to date. Herein, for the first time, a 3D symmetric triboelectric nanogenerator‐based gyroscope ball (T‐ball) with dual capability of energy harvesting and self‐powered sensing is proposed for motion monitoring including multiaxis acceleration and rotation. The T‐ball can harvest energy under versatile scenarios and function as self‐powered 3D accelerometer with sensitivity of 6.08, 5.87, and 3.62 V g−1 . Furthermore, the T‐ball can serve as a self‐powered gyroscope for rotation sensing with sensitivity of 3.5 mV so−1. It shows good performance in hand motion recognition and human activity state monitoring applications. The proposed T‐ball as a self‐powered gyroscope for advanced motion sensing can pave the way to a self‐powered, more accurate, and more complete motion monitoring system. A self‐powered gyroscope based on triboelectric mechanism is proposed by using a 3D symmetric triboelectric nanogenerator ball (T‐ball). The T‐ball can harvest energy under diversified circumstances and function as self‐powered advanced motion sensor, that is, a 3D accelerometer and gyroscope. When mounted on humans, the T‐ball can provide useful real‐time information for a motion monitoring system.