Intelligent sensing technology inspired by cell electrophoresis: Dielectric polarization sensor for monitoring the electrical equipment status of IoT nodes

Abstract

The rapid development of the Internet of Things (IoT) era has led to the emergence of various types of information sensing devices. The operation and maintenance of IoT devices require a large-scale use of sensors at the expense of high energy consumption. In this work, we develop a self-powered voltage monitoring sensor (VSM-S) based on the principle of dielectric polarization, which is inspired by the cell electrophoresis phenomenon. This sensor imitates the structure of biological cells and takes advantage of the easier polarization characteristics of liquid medium with high dielectric constant in an external electric field. It collects electric field energy to achieve self-powering function and can monitor the position and status of the electric field source in real-time through output signals. Experiments show that the designed VSM-S has the characteristics of fast response (10−9-10−15 s), high sensitivity (0.3 nA/V), and wide application range. Furthermore, its integration with monitoring systems enables applications in smart industries, smart homes, and smart grids. This work has considerable development prospects in the fields of wearable sensors and the IoTs.