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Self-powered Cursor Using a Triboelectric Mechanism

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The self‐powered cursor is made of liquid‐metal and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mixture that deforms and contacts with different sensing electrodes under different applied force. The self‐powered cursor has the capability of simultaneously detecting normal force (0–25 N) and shear force direction (0°–360°) for the first time. The normal force sensing is characterized by open‐circuit voltage, charge, and current with the sensitivity of 0.131 V N−1, 0.048 nC N−1, and 0.175 nA N−1, respectively. The shear force direction detection can achieve a direction resolution of 15°. Because of  the high output voltage and low internal impedance, the self‐powered cursor is readily compatible with commercial portable circuits  without the requirement of specified bulky high‐impedance instruments to detect the output voltage. Demonstration of the self‐powered cursor as a triggering signal to drive a small vehicle is successfully realized by directly detecting the output voltage without any periphery signal processing circuits. The robust structure, stable output performance, and self‐powered sensing property enable the self‐powered cursor as an ideal human machine interface towards batteryless, energy saving, and environmentally friendly applications.

The research paper was first published in Small-Methods on 28/05/2018.
doi/abs/10.1002/smtd.201800078

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