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Piezoelectric nanogenerators are becoming a compelling bioelectronics platform technology for human-associated energy harvesting, self-powered sensing, and therapeutics, which will largely contribute to the medical field in the era of the Internet of things.

Current solutions developed for the purpose of in and on body (IOB) electrical stimulation (ES) lack autonomous qualities necessary for comfortable, practical, and self‐dependent use. Consequently, recent focus has been placed on developing self‐powered IOB therapeutic devices capable of generating therapeutic ES for human use. With the recent invention of the triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), harnessing passive human biomechanical energy to develop self‐powered systems has allowed for the introduction of novel therapeutic ES solutions. TENGs are especially effective at providing ES for IOB therapeutic systems given their bioconformability, low cost, simple manufacturability, and self‐powering capabilities. Due to the key role of naturally induced electrical signals in many physiological functions, TENG‐induced ES holds promise to provide a novel paradigm in therapeutic interventions. The aim here is to detail research on IOB TENG devices applied for ES‐based therapy in the fields of regenerative medicine, neurology, rehabilitation, and pharmaceutical engineering. Furthermore, considering TENG‐produced ES can be measured for sensing applications, this technology is paving the way to provide a fully autonomous personalized healthcare system, capable of IOB energy generation, sensing, and therapeutic intervention. Considering these grounds, it seems highly relevant to review TENG‐ES research and applications, as they could constitute the foundation and future of personalized healthcare.

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The parallel evolution of wearable electronics, artificial intelligence, and fifth-generation wireless technology has created a technological paradigm with the potential to change our lives profoundly. Despite this, addressing limitations linked to continuous, sustainable, and pervasive powering of wearable electronics remains a bottleneck to overcome in order to maximize the exponential benefit that these technologies can bring once synergized. A recent groundbreaking discovery has demonstrated that by using the coupling effect of contact electrification and electrostatic induction, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) can efficiently convert irregular and low-frequency passive biomechanical energy from body movements into electrical energy, providing an infinite and sustainable power source for wearable electronics. A number of human motions have been exploited to properly and efficiently harness this energy potential, including human ambulation. Shoes are an indispensable component of daily wearing and can be leveraged as an excellent platform to exploit such kinetic energy. In this article, the latest representative achievements of TENG-based smart electricity-generating shoes are comprehensively reviewed. We summarize ways in which not only can biomechanical energy be scavenged via ambulatory motion, but also biomonitoring of health parameters via tracking of rhythm and strength of pace can be implemented to aid in theranostic fields. This work provides a systematical review of the rational structural design, practical applications, scenario analysis, and performance evaluation of TENG-based smart shoes for wearable electricity generation. In addition, the perspective for future development of smart electricity-generation shoes as a sustainable and pervasive energy solution towards the upcoming era of the Internet of Things is discussed.