Liftoff of a soft-actuated micro-aerial-robot powered by triboelectric nanogenerators
- Authors
- Lee, Younghoon; Ren, Zhijian; Hsiao, Yi-Hsuan; Kim, Suhan; Song, Won Jun; Lee, Chengkuo; Chen, Yufeng
- Issue Date
- Jul-2024
- Publisher
- ELSEVIER
- Keywords
- Dielectric elastomer actuator; Triboelectric nanogenerators; Soft robotics; Flapping-wing; Micro-aerial-vehicles
- Citation
- NANO ENERGY, v.126
- Journal Title
- NANO ENERGY
- Volume
- 126
- URI
- https://scholarworks.bwise.kr/gachon/handle/2020.sw.gachon/91581
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.nanoen.2024.109602
- ISSN
- 2211-2855
2211-3282
- Abstract
- Aerial insects can nimbly navigate in cluttered natural environments while they interact with delicate objects such as flowers and leaves. To achieve insect-like agility and robustness, power dense dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) have been developed for driving sub-gram micro-aerial-vehicles (MAVs). However, despite exhibiting muscle-like bandwidth and resilience, DEAs require a high driving voltage in the range of 1 - 2 kilovolts. This requirement poses substantial challenges for developing compact boost electronics and energy sources, which prohibit power autonomous operations of soft-actuated sub-gram MAVs. Here, we develop a compact and high power triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that can effectively charge a high-voltage DEA and enable the liftoff of a soft-actuated MAV. We propose an In -plane Charge Pump (ICP) design that can deliver over 1500 V and 110 mW without requiring a secondary charge pump or magnetic circuit components such as inductors or transformers. Compared to conventional free-standing mode TENGs, our ICP design shows a 280 % and 920 % increase in voltage and energy generation, respectively. When this TENG powers a DEA-driven MAV, the 160 mg robot achieves liftoff with a lift-to-weight ratio of 1.75. This result highlights the potential of powering high-voltage microrobots with energy-harvesting devices.
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