Human biomechanical energy is characterized by fluctuating amplitudes and variable low frequency, and an effective utilization of such energy cannot be achieved by classical energy-harvesting technologies. Here we report a high-efficient self-charging power system for sustainable operation of mobile electronics exploiting exclusively human biomechanical energy, which consists of a high-output triboelectric nanogenerator, a power management circuit to convert the random a.c. energy to d.c. electricity at 60% efficiency, and an energy storage device. With palm tapping as the only energy source, this power unit provides a continuous d.c. electricity of 1.044 mW (7.34 W m^-3) in a regulated and managed manner. This self-charging unit can be universally applied as a standard ‘infinite-lifetime’ power source for continuously driving numerous conventional electronics, such as thermometers, electrocardiograph system, pedometers, wearable watches, scientific calculators and wireless radio-frequency communication system, which indicates the immediate and broad applications in personal sensor systems and internet of things.

Nature Communications 6, Article number: 8975 doi:10.1038/ncomms9975
Received 19 August 2015 Accepted 19 October 2015 Published 11 December 2015

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/151123/ncomms9975/full/ncomms9975.html

人体生物能是通过波动幅度和可变低频来描述的，不过依靠传统的能量采集技术无法有效利用这些能量。 Niu 等人报道了一种高效自充电能量系统，可以利用人体生物力学能为移动电子设备充电。这套系统包括一个高输出摩擦起电纳米发电器、一个能源管理电路以及一个储能装置。以摩擦作为唯一能量来源，这套发电装置可以提供功率为 1.044mW 的直流电能。作为一种“永久寿命”的能源，这套自充电装置为多种电子设备充电，如温度计、心电图仪、计步器、手表、计算器、无线电通讯设备等。（新材料在线）