Self‐Powered Artificial Mechanoreceptor Based on Triboelectrification for a Neuromorphic Tactile System

Abstract

A self‐powered artificial mechanoreceptor module is demonstrated with a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) as a pressure sensor with sustainable energy harvesting and a biristor as a neuron. By mimicking a biological mechanoreceptor, it simultaneously detects the pressure and encodes spike signals to act as an input neuron of a spiking neural network (SNN). A self‐powered neuromorphic tactile system composed of artificial mechanoreceptor modules with an energy harvester can greatly reduce the power consumption compared to the conventional tactile system based on von Neumann computing, as the artificial mechanoreceptor module itself does not demand an external energy source and information is transmitted with spikes in a SNN. In addition, the system can detect low pressures near 3 kPa due to the high output range of the TENG. It therefore can be advantageously applied to robotics, prosthetics, and medical and healthcare devices, which demand low energy consumption and low‐pressure detection levels. For practical applications of the neuromorphic tactile system, classification of handwritten digits is demonstrated with a software‐based simulation. Furthermore, a fully hardware‐based breath‐monitoring system is implemented using artificial mechanoreceptor modules capable of detecting wind pressure of exhalation in the case of pulmonary respiration and bending pressure in the case of abdominal breathing.

A Review of Artificial Spiking Neuron Devices for Neural Processing and Sensing

“…[27] By contrast, a mechanoreceptor composed of a triboelectric nanogenerator and a 1T-neuron or a mechanoreceptor composed of a polypyrrole-based resistive pressure sensor and a memristor neuron could detect pressures under 10 kPa. [28,86] This is excellent sensitivity even when compared to conventional pressure sensors. If researchers focus only on the realization of a function that performs sensing and spike generation simultaneously, the performance of the sensor system can be sacrificed.…”

“…In order to detect lower pressures by gentle touches such as handwriting and breathing, an artificial tactile sensory neuron was demonstrated with a triboelectric nanogenerator and a 1T-neuron. [86] As shown in Figure 9c, by taking advantage of the high output range of the triboelectric nanogenerator, the artificial tactile sensory neuron could successfully respond to low pressures (≈3 kPa) and generate electrical signals without an additional power source. Furthermore, it was utilized to demonstrate an experimental software simulation for pattern recognition and a hardware-based breath monitoring system, as shown in Figure 9d.…”

“…Reproduced with permission. [86] Copyright 2022, John Wiley & Sons. e) Structure and f) multisensory integration of an artificial tactile sensory neuron mimicking a slow-adaptive (SA) mechanoreceptor.…”

“…It was demonstrated with a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) and a 1T-neuron (biristor). Reproduced with permission [86]. Copyright 2022, John Wiley & Sons.…”

A Self‐Powered, Single‐Mode Tactile Sensor Based on Sensory Adaptation Using Piezoelectric‐Driven Ion Migration

“…Research on neuromorphic tactile systems that sense tactile information and transmit it to the signal processor, such as artificial afferent nerves and artificial sensory synapses, is in progress. [14][15][16][17][18] For further application, the tactile sensor should actively discriminate more diverse stimuli in a compact design. [19] satisfy a simple and low-power-consuming feature.…”