A self-powered human-pet interaction system enabled by triboelectric nanogenerator functionalized pet-leash

Amid the increasing popularity of human-pet companionship, wearable electronics that can monitor pets' health and exercise habits in real-time have become more and more prominent. With this comes the urgent need for a sustainable power supply for these devices to support the human-pet interaction system. In this work, a triboelectric nanogenerator functionalized pet leash (TEPL) is designed to harvest abundant mechanical energy from the relative motion between human and pet, which is mainly composed of an embedded TENG, a turntable with a coil spring, and a leash sewn with conductive Ag wires. Electricity is generated when TEPL is pulled out and retracted. The parameters affecting TEPL’s outputs (pull-out distance, frequency, grating-degree of electrode) are systematically studied. Incorporating the power management circuit, not only does the device is equipped with a fast-charging rate for commercial capacitors, it can also power the LED chaplet made by 84 lamps in series connection when co-exercising with dogs. In addition, TEPL is demonstrated to continuously drive various pet wearable electronics, such as acoustic mosquito dispeller, sports bracelet, calorie counter, and pedometer. This work expresses the integration and feasibility of using TENG technology to construct a self-powered human-pet interaction system to satisfy the pursuit of sustainable power supplies.