Shadow-Thermoelectric System for Enhancing Solar Energy Harvesting and Touchless Human-Machine Interface

Abstract

Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are one of the most promising means of harvesting energy from the sun. However, the TEGs require a significant temperature difference to generate electricity, making it challenging to achieve high power output from solar radiation alone. Here, shadow-effect generators (SEGs) are connected with TEGs to form a shadow-thermoelectric system (STS), which exploits the natural shadow produced by the TEG to enhance the electrical power output by solar energy conversion. With the shadow enhancement, the open-circuit voltage of the STS is significantly increased by a factor of 115 compared to that of the single TEG. Furthermore, the STSs array is successfully combined with a photoelectrochemical cell to convert the intermittent solar energy into storable hydrogen energy. In addition, the STS can be applied as a touchless self-powered sensor which provides a useful control panel for human-machine interface (HMI). After combining the STS with signal processing circuits, the STS can control a virtual vehicle on computer smartly. In conclusion, STS is a promising design for energy harvesting and touchless self-powered sensing. This research provides valuable insights for the development of efficient solar energy conversion and new possibilities for HMI.