Self-powered system for real-time wireless monitoring and early warning of UAV motor vibration based on triboelectric nanogenerator

• Published in: Nano energy 2024-10, Vol.129, p.110012, Article 110012
• Main Authors: Wang, Kuankuan, Yao, Yongming, Liu, Yixin, Guan, Xiang, Yu, Yang, Wang, Jianlong, Wang, Yuqi, Li, Tianyu, Cheng, Tinghai
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Self-powered system; Triboelectric nanogenerator; Unmanned aerial vehicle; Vibration sensor; Wireless transmission
• ISSN: 2211-2855
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2024.110012

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is widely used in various industries due to their high flexibility and large maneuverable space. Abnormal vibration of UAV motors can prevent it from working properly due to the abnormal state of the motors and the harsh external environment. There is no suitable method to monitor the UAV motors vibration in real time. At the same time, commercial sensors require an additional power supply to power the sensor, which indirectly limited their application in UAVs. A vibration sensor (AV-TENG) with magnetic spring structure was proposed in this paper for monitoring the vibration of UAV motors. The experimental results show that the magnetic spring has excellent stability. AV-TENG can achieve frequency detection in a wide frequency band. It also has excellent linearity with a maximum error of only 0.0062 %. Simultaneously, to verify the performance of AV-TENG in various environments and simulate its loading, the results demonstrate that AV-TENG can adapt well to the working conditions of UAV. Finally, this paper constructs a low-cost (less than $7), easy-to-manufacture signal acquisition system, and conducts a field demonstration, realizing the monitoring of the vibration frequency and acceleration of the UAV motors, and realizing the early warning, which is expected to promote the development of the field of UAV as well as the practical application of the triboelectric nanogenerator. [Display omitted] •Based on TENG, the vibration sensor designed in this paper was used to monitor the vibration of the motor part of the UAV.•A novel magnetic spring structure is designed, which has the advantages of high reliability and high stability.•A low-cost, high-accuracy acquisition system for TENG is designed. UAV-carrying experiments were conducted in practice.