Self-sustainable wind speed sensor system with omni-directional wind based triboelectric generator

Abstract A stable power supply is critical for wireless sensor systems. While various energy harvesting devices have been studied, there has been limited discussion of circuit design for a self-powered sensor system. This study introduces a self-sustainable wind speed sensor system (SSWSSS) with an omni-directional wind-based triboelectric generator (OW-TEG) along with a 2-dimensional co-planar surface. The OW-TEG simultaneously provides both signal sensing and energy harvesting without interference. The SSWSSS consists of an OW-TEG and a control circuit that senses wind speed and manages the harvested energy storage. Wind speed is extracted from the frequency of the electrical signals from the OW-TEG, which operates by wind actuation of a flat triboelectric film which flutters between two electrodes. The frequency is characterized by counting the number of induced voltage peaks above a reference voltage. Meanwhile, omni-directional energy harvesting is accomplished by using control circuit functions to count frequency, convert power, and store energy. Realization of this self-sustainable sensor system represents a forward step towards achieving a self-powered sensor platform.