Enhanced Machine Condition Monitoring Based on Triboelectric Nanogenerator (TENG): A Review of Recent Advancements

Intelligent machine condition monitoring is desirable to enable Industry 4.0 and 5.0 to create sustainable products and services via the integration of automation, data exchange, and human–machine interface. In the past decades, huge progress has been achieved in establishing sustainable machine condition monitoring systems via various sensing technologies. Yet, the dependence on external power sources or batteries for sensing and data communication remains a challenge. In addition, energy harvesting and sensing are dynamically growing research fields introducing various working mechanisms and designs for improved performance, flexibility, and integrability. Recently, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) have been applied as a new technology for energy harvesting and sensing to monitor machine performance. This manuscript presents the potential application of TENG for self-powered sensors and energy harvesting technology for machine condition monitoring, where the developmental aspects of TENG-based devices including the robustness of design and device integration to machine elements are reviewed. For better comparison, the performance of various reported devices is summarized. Simultaneously, the advanced results achieved in employing TENGs for various condition analysis techniques and self-powered wireless communication for machine condition monitoring are discussed. Finally, the challenges, and key strategies for utilizing TENGs for machine condition monitoring in the future, are presented.