A Novel Triboelectric Sensor With Low Starting Speed for Omnidirectional Monitoring of Wind Speed and Direction

Developing a self-powered sensor system for real-time measurement of wind speed and direction in dispersed locations is crucial for environmental monitoring. In this study, a rotational wind sensor based on a non-contact triboelectric nanogenerator (RWT-sensor) is proposed, which can operate autonomously at ultra-low wind speeds and has the capability to measure wind speed and multiple wind directions in real-time. The device, featuring a non-contact design, utilizes the gap between the wool and Teflon, along with the lightweight characteristic of the wool material, to achieve a starting wind speed of less than 1 m/s. The wind speed can be determined by reading the sensor’s voltage frequency at various wind speeds. The voltage frequency that the sensor can reach within the wind speed range of 1-12 m/s is 3.5-67.34 Hz, with a sensitivity of 5.88 Hz/(m/s), and a goodness of fit R² = 0.99781. Meanwhile, the voltage range that the sensor can achieve is approximately 1.5-50V, and the sensor will monitor eight wind directions based on the output voltage value, when the conductive brush approaches without touching one or two reverse electrodes on the base. In addition, the device demonstrates excellent stability and durability at various temperature and humidity conditions. Therefore, the present novel wind sensor has great potential for application in self-powered wind speed sensing and high-sensitivity wind direction sensing.