Empowering smart toys and devices with stretchable and vivid triboelectric layers for enhanced interaction and monitoring

The evolving landscape of intelligent devices and toys demands seamless interaction, exceptional performance, and visually captivating features. Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) offer an eco-friendly solution for generating electrical energy in smart toys and devices. This research introduces high-power and stretchable triboelectric layers in various colors tailored for toys and wearable gadgets. Combination of the silicone rubber with the ceramic powders, not only improved mechanical properties, but also provided vibrant colors. This process enhanced the fracture strain and the toughness, and reduced the Young's modulus, so stretchability and overall quality were increased. The best composite, the green layer, demonstrated outstanding attributes such as a power density of 6.5 W/m², a fracture strain of 385 %, a toughness of 1.86 Mj/m³, and a Young's modulus of 0.20 MPa. The green TENG, a sandwich format with an EGaIn electrode, was used for effective monitoring of human body movements. Additionally, a highly efficient machine learning model has been developed for identifying human motions with a remarkable accuracy of 98 %. The study highlighted the considerable power density, voltage, and current exhibited by the colorful TENGs. By integrating these TENGs into circuitry, an engaging toy was created that produces musical notes and displays corresponding pattern on a computer screen when a colorful array was pressed. These colorful nanogenerators hold significant promise for battery-free toys and wearable electronics.