texTENG: Fabricating Wearable Textile-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerators

TL;DR

texTENG addresses the barrier of making textile-based triboelectric nanogenerators accessible to makers by providing a DIY-friendly design menu and tooling. It integrates 1D, 2D, and 2.5D textile structures using braiding, weaving, and knitting to realize energy harvesting and self-powered sensing in wearables. The work demonstrates eight application prototypes and delivers technical evaluations of material performance, energy storage, and touch-sensing robustness, highlighting practical viability and pathways for sustainable prototyping. Collectively, texTENG broadens participation in wearable energy harvesting and informs future improvements in materials, fabrication, and design tools for on-body electronics.

Abstract

Recently, there has been a surge of interest in sustainable energy sources, particularly for wearable computing. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have shown promise in converting human motion into electric power. Textile-based TENGs, valued for their flexibility and breathability, offer an ideal form factor for wearables. However, uptake in maker communities has been slow due to commercially unavailable materials, complex fabrication processes, and structures incompatible with human motion. This paper introduces texTENG, a textile-based framework simplifying the fabrication of power harvesting and self-powered sensing applications. By leveraging accessible materials and familiar tools, texTENG bridges the gap between advanced TENG research and wearable applications. We explore a design menu for creating multidimensional TENG structures using braiding, weaving, and knitting. Technical evaluations and example applications highlight the performance and feasibility of these designs, offering DIY-friendly pathways for fabricating textile-based TENGs and promoting sustainable prototyping practices within the HCI and maker communities.

Figures (6)

• Figure 1: Left) Operational principle of TENGs; Center) Four fundamental operating modes of TENGs; Right) Different types of TENGs based on the bonding between electrodes and tribo layers.
• Figure 2: Design Menu of texTENG includes (a) commercially available triboelectric materials and textile structures for fabricating textile-based TENGs, including (b) 1D yarn-level structure, (c) 2D textile structures, and (d) 2.5D textile structures. Materials are ordered based on our experiments and insights from Liu et al. LIU2018383. (Since separating the electrode from the tribo layer does not enhance TENG performance, we opted not to incorporate single-electrode 2.5D structures in our implementation.)
• Figure 3: DIY techniques for fabricating yarn-based TENGs (blue and yellow represent positive and negative tribo yarns, respectively, on the triboelectric series, gray represent conductive yarns, and purple represent non-functional yarn).
• Figure 4: Techniques for fabricating (a) 1D yarn-based TENGs with a DIY braiding tool, (b) 2D single-layer woven structures, (c) 2D multilayer woven structures, (d) 2D single-layer knit structures, (e) 2D knit CS structures, (f-h) 2.5D woven structures on the floor loom, and (i-l) 2.5D Ottoman Stitch knit structures (blue, yellow, purple, and gray represent positive, negative, non-functional, and insulated conductive yarns, respectively.
• Figure 5: Circuit diagrams and PCB of our custom sensing board are shown in (a) and (b) and for the power management system (PMS) in (c) and (d).