Autonomous Tilt Sensing System Utilizing Optimized Fabrication-Enhanced Nanocomposite Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Full-Spherical Coverage

Abstract

Electronic tilt sensors are extensively utilized in modern industrial applications such as construction, automotive, aerospace, and robotics. However, self-powered tilt sensors with full-spherical coverage remains underexplored. This study introduces an autonomous peak-detection tilt sensing (APTS) system utilizing a tilt sensing triboelectric nanogenerator (TS-TENG) with interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) and a ball mechanism. The TS-TENG integrates spinel CuCo₂O₄ (CCO) nanopillars on a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) sub-microfibrous structure. The optimized CCO@PMMA-based TENG exhibits significant enhancement in performance. The open-circuit voltage increases from 176.23 to 391.82 V, a 2.22-fold increase, and the short-circuit current increases from 29.40 to 91.87 µA, a 3.12-fold increase compared to the bare PMMA-based TENG. Additionally, under a load resistance of 2 MΩ, the TS-TENG generates a maximum power of 20.39 mW. The APTS system is successfully validated through both simulation and experimental approaches. By implementing a counting mechanism to track the types and numbers of positive and negative peaks, the system achieves omnidirectional full-spherical coverage. This work not only elucidates the optimization process of the CCO@PMMA composite and the influence of CCO on triboelectricity but also underscores the potential of TENGs as self-powered 360° tilt sensors.