Self‐Powered Sensor Based on Bionic Antennae Arrays and Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Identifying Noncontact Motions

Abstract The sensor devices based on triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) have been proved to have both high sensitivity and good self‐powered capability. Inspired by the cockroach antennae, a bionic‐antennae‐array (BAA) sensor based on the working principle of TENG is proposed for identifying the noncontact motions and a data processing module is specially designed for outputting electrostatic signal to the microcontroller unit (MCU). Based on the amplifying effect of antennae array, the detected maximum distance by this BAA sensor can reach 180 mm with a displacement resolution of 1 mm and maximum sensitivity of about 5.6 V mm −1 (at approaching angle of 90°). The influences of several critical factors, such as approaching angle, motion velocity, and target materials, to the performance of this BAA sensor are systematically studied. Meanwhile, the BAA sensor is integrated with proximity switch, intelligent robot, and mobile vehicles for realizing the function of motion alarming and obstacle detecting. The high sensitivity and the easy fabrication process of this TENG‐based BAA sensor show great application potentials in the field of industrial robotics, human–machine interactions, artificial intelligence, etc.